Within the HNSCC cell lines, half of the analysed lines (UD-SSC 6, UD-SSC 7A, UD-SSC 7B, UM-SSC 10B, UM-SSC 17A and B as well as UT-SSC 24B) expressed higher CCL20 mRNA levels, while the other half exhibited a comparable or slightly lower expression of CCL20 compared with mucosal keratinocytes (Fig. 1f). Here, CCL20 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.