SOX2 and neoplasm: We found that BMI1, CD44, SOX2, OCT4, UBE2C, FAM3C, CXCR4, NANOG, and RRM2 mRNA levels were significantly increased while IGF-1R, KLF4, and ALDH1A were decreased in OSCC samples compared to healthy adjacent mucosa and that this trend significantly correlated with tumor stage (Fig 2).