Similarly, rhTNF-α and rhIL-1β promoted HNSCC cell growth when cultured with SPP1-KD cells (Fig. 4E, F; Supplementary Fig. S5E, F), which indicated that the functions of TNF-α and IL-1β differed from those of SPP1 in SPP1 + Macs. Here, SPP1 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.