STAT3 and cancer: In general, the long-term exposure of HM to acidic bile induced higher transcriptional levels of NF-κB transcriptional factor Rela, cancer-related inflammatory molecules Tnf and Il6, anti-apoptotic gene Bcl2, and oncogenic Egfr and Stat3, with statistically significant differences compared to HM exposed to acid alone (pH 3.0), or saline (pH 7.0) treated controls (Figure 4B).