For HPV-independent SNSCC with matched normal DNA the most frequently mutated COSMIC cancer driver genes included TP53, NOTCH1, and KRAS (3/7 patients, 43%) as well as CDKN2A, COL2A1, FAT4, FBXW7, and ROS1 (2/7 patients, 29%) (Figs. 1A, and Supplementary Fig. 2A). This evidence concerns the gene COL2A1 and cancer.