IL6 and neoplasm: Surprisingly, the activation of TLR4 expressed on tumor cells has been proposed to also promote tumor development by increasing the production of oncogenic mediators (e.g., COX2, IL6, VEGF, and TGFβ) via the activation of proinflammatory and protumoral signaling pathways, such as the NF-κB, MAPK, and COX2/PGE2 pathways (35, 36).