More recently, both PLAU and STC2 were identified as oncogenes in HNSCC tumors, associated with immunosuppression and inflammation (Chang et al., 2003; Ieta et al., 2009; Na et al., 2015; Yang et al., 2017, 2020; Joshi, 2020; Fang et al., 2021; Li et al., 2021). The gene discussed is PLAU; the disease is head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.