The clinicopathological analysis in 94 patients with HNSCC revealed significant associations of 73 − 10 positivity with high CD4+ TILs expression, pDOI ≥ 10 mm, and the presence of lymphovascular invasion (all, p < 0.05), but no significant associations with the expression of TILs, CD8+ TILs, immune-active status, and other clinicopathological features (p > 0.05, Table 2). Here, CD4 is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.