STAT3 and colorectal cancer: Moreover, the anti-tumor effects of tanshinone IIA include enhancing the apoptosis of advanced cervix carcinoma CaSki cells (Shan et al., 2009), inhibiting the invasion and metastasis of human colon carcinoma cells (Pan et al., 2013), suppressing angiogenesis in human colorectal cancer (Zhou et al., 2012), downregulating the expression of epidermal growth factor receptors in hepatocellular carcinoma cells (Zhai et al., 2009), and reducing Stat3 expression in breast cancer stem cells (Lin et al., 2013; Chen, 2014).