STAT3 and familial pancreatic carcinoma: Furthermore, the STAT3 pathway appears to be directly linked to CSCs, where its activation has been associated with the transformation of quiescent gastric CSCs into invasive gastric CSCs [3,4] Recently, interleukin (IL)-22, a cytokine that in humans is encoded by the IL22 gene and highly expressed in pancreatic cancer cells, has been identified to promote pancreatic cancer stemness through STAT3 activation [5].The Notch pathway is one of the integral signaling pathways responsible for maintaining the undifferentiated state of CSCs [6,7].