STAT3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: CA impedes cell growth, induces cell cycle arrest, promotes apoptosis, and decreases mitochondrial membrane potential; CA has been shown to induce autophagy in various cancers: by enhancing p21 expression in melanoma [14] by inhibiting the AKT/mTOR pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma [20], by activating the JNK pathway in cervical cancer [10], by suppressing the Src/STAT3 pathway in renal carcinoma [21], by inhibiting the STAT3 pathway in colon cancer [22], by downregulating miR-15b in pancreatic cancer [23], and by modulating the AKT/IKK/NF-κB pathway in prostate carcinoma [24].