In addition, CAFs have been shown to play an important role in promoting HNSCC progression (Wheeler et al., 2014), mainly by secreting growth factors such as IL-6 and IL-8 (New et al., 2017), remodeling the extracellular matrix and enhancing therapeutic resistance (Bergers and Hanahan, 2008). Here, CXCL8 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.