This group notably included three Rho/Rac effector proteins: (a) the MAP3K11 gene product, mixed lineage kinase 3 (MLK3), which is an upstream regulator of MAPK signalling [34] and phosphorylates IκB kinase (IKK) α and β, thereby activating NF‐κB (11), (b) PKN2, a promoter of cell cycle progression previously been explored as a target in HNSCC [35], and (c) PAK2, a multi‐function kinase that integrates cellular stress responses with activation of oncogenic signalling pathways [36] and proved to be of particular interest in subsequent analyses in this study. This evidence concerns the gene NFKB1 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.