Furthermore, a preliminary review of the underlying molecular mechanisms suggests that this process may involve the potential regulation of multiple signaling pathways, including NF-κB, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, IL-6R/JAK/STAT3, CXCL8/CXCR2, TGF-β/Smad, and FGF19-FGFR4.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The existing <i>in vitro</i> evidence suggests that mesenchymal stem cells may exhibit a potential to promote EMT in HNSCC, potentially regulating tumor progression through multiple signaling pathway networks and providing new potential targets for future therapies targeting the TME. Here, MTOR is linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.