TGFB1 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Concordantly, our analysis of TCGA-HNSC dataset indicates that in HNSCC, tumors expressing higher DCLK1 mRNA levels were enriched for pathways that have been implicated in the EMT and CSC maintenance (such as NOTCH, WNT, TGFβ, and hedgehog signaling), as well as for RAS and angiogenesis cascades.