STAT3 and cancer: Hallmark pathways that were significantly enriched in the OSCC and dysplastic groups compared to controls included key cancer progression and transformation pathways, such as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and KRAS signaling, as well as inflammatory response pathways such as TNF-α signaling via NF-κB, interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and alpha (IFN-α) response, IL2/STAT5, and IL6/JAK-STAT3 signaling.