IL6 and cancer: For instance, it has been found that in large intestinal epithelial cells, the STAT3 pathway is stimulated by IL-6, resulting in excessive secretion of S100A9 [28], and in a study of colon cancer pathogenesis involving RAGE knockout mice, S100A9 was found to play an important role in the progression from chronic inflammation to cancer by activating the RAGE-NF-kB pathway [29].