SOX2 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Conversely, non-viral approaches are advancing through ligand-directed targeting, as evidenced by epidermal growth factor receptor functionalized lipid nanoparticles delivering CRISPR-SOX2 therapeutics that achieved 90% tumor growth suppression and extended survival beyond 84 days in head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma xenografts (Masarwy et al., 2025).