Our study maps the invasive front of oral cancer using spatial transcriptomics. We found that tumor cells are aided by an "accomplice": activated myofibroblastic CAFs (myCAFs). Through ECM-CD44 crosstalk, myCAFs enhance tumor cell stemness, creating a metastatic niche. From this interaction, we extracted a spatially resolved, 23-gene signature that predicts both lymph node metastasis and poor survival, which offers new prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
