Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) often originate in the oral cavity, where the tongue mucosa is the most frequently affected site. Tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) has tendencies of local invasion and lymph node metastasis. Patients with advanced TSCC (stage III-IV) are at a high risk of recurrence, with an overall survival rate < 65% (Argiris & Eng, 2003;Warnakulasuriya, 2009).The Krüppel-like factor (KLF) family of transcription factors regulates multiple essential cellular processes in normal cells and tissues, including proliferation, differentiation, migration, inflammation, and pluripotency (Tetreault et al., 2013). Increasing numbers of studies have recently reported altered expressions of KLF members in cancer, and have characterized their tumor suppressor or oncogenic functions. According to available evidence, individual KLFs may have different roles in different cancer types or during cancer development and progression. Involvement of KLF members in tumorigenesis or progression in head and neck cancers has been reported in several studies. Abrigo et al. (2014) reported oral-specific ablation of KLF4-impaired squamous differentiation and initiation of tongue carcinoma in a mouse model. Hsu et al. (2017) reported that KLF6 is a tumor suppressor gene,
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