Depletion of SIRT1 increases STAT3 acetylation and phosphorylation as well as upregulates matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13) protein in gastric cancer (GC) both in vivo and in vitro, which, together with other metalloproteinases such as MMP-2 and MMP-9, play an important role in cancer cell invasion via the degradation of the extracellular matrix. Here, STAT3 is linked to gastric cancer.