A loss of PINK1/Parkin or BNIP3 leads to decreased mitophagy fluxes and to the accumulation of damaged mitochondria that generate high levels of ROS that facilitate the stabilization of HIF-1α, while the tumor suppressor and DNA damage sensor p53 induces BNIP3 and promotes mitophagy, thus limiting metabolic rewiring, as demonstrated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines following irradiation [406]. This evidence concerns the gene BNIP3 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.