On the other hand, of the 43 tumors that were pAkt negative/IL-6 negative, 79% (34/43) were also negative for pSTAT3 whereas 40% (6/15) of pAkt positive/IL-6 positive tumors were also positive for pSTAT3, indicating that the loop Akt/IL-6 may represent one of the mechanisms that lead to activation of STAT3 in NSCLC. The gene discussed is IL6; the disease is non-small cell lung carcinoma.