Moreover, Dhruv Kumar et al. [109] found that CAFs-secreted HGF facilitates HNSCC progression: HNSCC cancer cells and CAFs have a metabolic relationship in which CAFs secrete HGF to induce a glycolytic switch in HNSCC cells, and HNSCC cells secrete basic FGF to promote lactate consumption by CAFs. Here, HGF is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.