However, upon knockdown of SBF2-AS1, laryngeal SCC cells became more invasive, with higher expression of EMT markers (e.g. vimentin and N-cadherin), which, in turn, is contradictory to the lower levels of TGFBR2. Hence, although low SBF2-AS1 expression was correlated to lymph node metastasis and to advanced clinical stage, the mechanism of SBF2-AS1 regulating EMT in HNSCC may not involve TGF-β signaling. This evidence concerns the gene TGFB1 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.