STAT3 and colorectal carcinoma: In addition, TNFα and IL-6 have been shown to promote activation of the key oncogenic transcription factors NF-κB (Nuclear factor κB) and Stat3 (Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3), which contribute to development and progression of CRC (Grivennikov and Karin, 2010; De Simone et al., 2015).