LIF and neoplasm: As illustrated in Fig 1, IL-6-type cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, IL-11, Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), Cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1), Oncostatin-M (OSM), Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF)), bind glycoprotein-130 (GP130) and activate janus kinase (JAK), which in turn phosphorylates STAT3, among other signaling mediators in PDAC tumor cells as well as cells of tumor microenvironment (TME) [16].