STAT3 and neoplasm: Notably, STAT3 induces the expression of anti-apoptotic and pro-survival genes such as Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, survivin, PIM1, or MCL1, as well as extracellular matrix modulators like matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), thereby supporting tumor growth, metastasis and chemoresistance (Shirogane et al., 1999; Kanda et al., 2004; Yu and Jove, 2004; Tsareva et al., 2007).