More recently, it was demonstrated that epithelial mesenchymal crosstalk (EMC), which constitutes the interaction of the tumor stroma and associated fibroblasts with epithelial cancer cells, induces a hybrid epithelial–mesenchymal phenotype in HNSCC cells that is associated with chemotherapy resistance, via IL-6/STAT3 pathway activation (11). Here, STAT3 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.