CD8A and neoplasm: Our annotation of the T cell compartment based on cytotoxic and dysfunctional state scores showed that T cells states fall on a trajectory, and that a single cell may simultaneously acquire characteristics of multiple states.[24,67] NK cells are generally considered cytotoxic and are associated with better prognosis in HNSCC.[68,69] CD8 T cells also exhibit this cytotoxic functionality in killing tumor cells.