Clinically, our data indicate that in HNSCC patients, the levels of p-PI3K, p-AKT, p-p65 and TGFα in CAFs is up-regulated in chemoresistant derived tumors as compared to chemosensitive derived tumors, while TGFα is predominately expressed in rCAFs and its expression correlates with patient prognosis. Here, TGFA is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.