STAT3 and melanoma: It has been suggested that activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and SRC/STAT3 pathway may be involved in resistance to BRAF inhibitors in melanoma and CRC cells.12, 14 However, AZ304 inhibited not only PI3K/AKT/mTOR activation, but also that of the SRC/STAT3 pathway in both BRAF mutant and wild type CRC cells, as shown above.