IL6 and cancer: The IL-6 signal also activates the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, specifically extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) through JAK activation of SHP2 (a protein-tyrosine phosphatase), which eventually activates the proto-oncogene Ras, a GTPase found mutated in many human cancers [50], especially in HCC [54].