Interestingly, we found that, in contrast to the reported findings, ERK1/2 phosphorylation was significantly downregulated in HNSCC cells infected with either wtVSV or VSV-S (Supplementary Fig. S9), suggesting that increased HMGB1 during viral infection cannot promote tumor growth via ERK1/2 activation. Here, HMGB1 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.