IL6 and inflammatory bowel disease: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin -23, cytokines which play key roles in the induction and maintenance of gut inflammation during inflammatory bowel diseases, have been shown to influence the development and growth of colitis associated colorectal cancer (CRC).[4] IL-6 is an immunomodulatory cytokine,[5] which also plays a role in growth stimulation, metastasis, and angiogenesis in secondary tumors in a variety of malignancies,[6] including CRC.[7–11]