The expression of apoptosis-, growth- and metastasis-related proteins, such as Bcl-xL, Bcl-2, VEGF, Src, CXCR4, and MMP2/9 were also regulated by phosphorylated STAT3 forms, thus promoting the growth, development and inhibition apoptosis of cancer cells (33) (see Figure 3). This evidence concerns the gene MMP2 and cancer.