STAT3 and cancer: Studies have demonstrated that cucurbitacin B alone or in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents significantly inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis by targeting the JAK/STAT3 pathway in various human cancer cells including gastric cancer MKN-45, pancreatic cancer Panc-1, MiaPaCa-2, and PL45, neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y, and osteosarcoma U-2 OS cells (Thoennissen et al., 2009; Zheng Q. et al., 2014; Xie et al., 2016; Zhang Z. R. et al., 2017).