STAT3 and infectious otitis media: Our study found that α-hederin inhibited the high expression of IL-6 in colon tissues of AOM/DSS treated mice (Fig. 3), we then detected the expression of STAT3 in colon tissues, and determined that both STAT3 expression and phosphorylation were increased in CRC tissues (Fig. 4A), which may be the result of a forward feedback loop induced by STAT3 that amplified STAT3 signaling and conferred a degree of malignancy to the inflammatory cancer transformation of IECs.