IL6 and urinary bladder cancer: Basic research has demonstrated that interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) released by neutrophils can activate the STAT3 pathway to induce bladder cancer cell proliferation (8, 9), while platelet-derived microparticles promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition through transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling (10).