The Ginos dataset (54 patient samples) showed that IL-1B, (p = 1.77 × 10−8), STAT1 (p = 9.25 × 10−11), MX2 (p = 0.22 × 10−8), LT-β (p = 2.43 × 10−6), C1R (p = 0.005), CCL5 (p = 2.28 × 10−9), MMP9 (p = 7.07 × 10−26), ALOX5 (p = 0.050) and CCL4 (p = 3.20 × 10−15) genes were upregulated in HNSCC compared with the normal buccal mucosa (Figure S1B). Here, MMP9 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.