Accordingly, we compared the expression of target genes (common in HNSCC) among these two groups and found that the expression levels of CDKN2A, EGFR, VEGFA, and TGF-β1 were greater in the R-stage samples, suggesting that these patients may benefit less from CDK4/6 inhibitor intervention but may achieve better clinical outcomes from the inhibition of EGFR, VEGFR and TGF-β1 (Fig. 6I, Supplementary Fig. 6g). Here, CDKN2A is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.