Using a mouse model of lymphatic metastasis, Shimizu et al. demonstrated that nicotine promotes LNMets in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma by inducing nuclear accumulation of phosphorylated epidermal growth factor (pEGFR) and activation of Akt signaling in neck squamous cell carcinoma cells [42]. This evidence concerns the gene AKT1 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.