Here we examine the published evidence investigating the relationship of cancer-associated fibroblasts to local recurrence and indicators of prognostic significance in HNSCC.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted a meta-analysis of existing publications that compare the relationship between CAF density, local recurrence, and clinically significant pathologic criteria of disease development (T stage, nodal positivity, clinical stage, vascular invasion, perineural invasion, Ki67 expression, and differentiation). Here, MKI67 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.