If You Cannot Win Them, Join Them: Understanding New Ways to Target STAT3 by Small Molecules.

Signal transducer activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is among the most investigated oncogenic transcription factors, as it is highly associated with cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, chemoresistance, and immune evasion. Evidences from both preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated that STAT3 plays a critical role in several malignancies associated with poor prognosis such as glioblastoma and triple-negative breast cancer, and STAT3 inhibitors have shown efficacy in inhibiting cancer growth and metastasis. Constitutive activation of STAT3 by mutations occurs frequently in tumor cells and directly contributes to many malignant phenotypes.