OS prediction by TMB in HNSCC immunotherapy cohorts. (A) Kaplan–Meier overall survival curves for tumor mutational burden (TMB)-high versus TMB-low patients (study by Samstein et al (2019); HNSCC Oral subsite cohort; N = 47). (B) In HNSCC patients with distant metastases (lung, liver, heart, brain, and bone), TMB-high (defined by TMB value >10.3 for head and neck cancer from Samstein et al (2019)) is also associated with improved overall survival (P = 0.1969, a trend; right panel).