A transition to immune exclusion in CIN+ tumors as characterized by a novel gene expression signature composed of DDR1, TGFBI, PAK4, and DPEP1 is observed, demonstrating how these genes and their protein products are key regulators of extracellular matrix components, are associated with lower cytotoxic immune infiltration, and show prognostic value in external cohorts. The gene discussed is PAK4; the disease is cervical squamous intraepithelial neoplasia.