Although further research is warranted to delineate the underlying mechanism(s) of FOXQ1-mediated chemoresistance in HNSCC, Meng et al. identified Twist1, Zeb2, PDGFRA and PDGFRB as potential downstream targets in breast carcinoma which are downregulated by FOXQ1 (Baumeister et al., 2021). Here, FOXQ1 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.