Zhang et al. evaluated the transcriptomes of PNI in HNSCC using weighted gene coexpression network analysis and found 12 genes (TIMP2, MIR198, LAMA4, FAM198B, MIR4649, COL5A1, COL1A2, OLFML2B, MMP2, FBN1, ADAM12, and PDGFRB) were highly expressed in fibroblasts7. This evidence concerns the gene MMP2 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.