BIRC5 and cancer: To determine the target genes of miR-361, we used multiple prediction algorithms (TargetScan, microRNA.org and DIANA-MicroT-CDS) and identified a set of common genes targeted by miR-361; these genes included STAT3 (Fig. 4a), which controls diverse hallmarks of human cancer, including proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, CSC generation, metastasis and chemoresistance as well as angiogenesis- or inflammation-associated cancer progression, by regulating the expression of its downstream effectors, such as Snail, MCL-1, Survivin, VEGF-A and IL-8 [16].