TNF and ovarian cancer: Bretz et al. demonstrated that TEX obtained from malignant ascites of ovarian cancer patients significantly induced the secretion of various pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, via Toll-like receptors 2 (TLR2) and Toll-like receptors 4 (TLR4) binding on monocytes surface, which subsequently activated nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and STAT3 in the THP-1 human monocytic cells [107].