STAT3 and cancer: In this study, RUNX1 knockdown significantly reduced the phosphorylation level of EGFR (Tyr1068), STAT3 (Tyr705), and AKT (Ser473, Thr308) in cancer cell lines (SKOV3, OVCAR3), and there were almost no significant differences in the expression levels of EGFR, STAT3 and AKT (Fig. 5A–B, Additional file 1: Fig. S4A–B).