STAT3 and thyroid gland papillary carcinoma: Although there is substantial data in the literature on the protumorigenic effects of Stat3, there have been reports that activation of Stat3 can have an opposite, tumor-suppressive role (e.g., PTEN wt versus null gliomas) [8] and that activated Stat3 is associated with better prognosis in leiomyosarcoma and human papillary thyroid carcinoma [9, 10].