The liver is a vital organ with multiple functions and a large regenerative capacity. Tumours of the liver are the second most frequently cause of cancer-related death and develop in chronically inflamed livers. IL-6-type cytokines are mediators of inflammation and almost all members signal via the receptor subunit gp130 and the downstream signalling molecule STAT3. We here summarize current knowledge on how gp130 signalling and STAT3 in tumour cells and cells of the tumour micro-environment drives hepatic tumorigenesis. We furthermore discuss very recent findings describing also anti-tumorigenic roles of gp130/STAT3 and important considerations for therapeutic interventions.

肝脏是重要器官，功能多样，再生能力大。肝脏肿瘤是癌症相关死亡的第二大常见原因，并在慢性发炎的肝脏中发展。IL-6 型细胞因子是炎症介质，几乎所有成员都通过受体亚基 gp130 和下游信号分子 STAT3 发出信号。我们在此总结了目前关于肿瘤细胞和肿瘤微环境细胞中的 gp130 信号传导和 STAT3 如何驱动肝脏肿瘤发生的知识。我们还讨论了描述 gp130/STAT3 的抗肿瘤发生作用和治疗干预的重要考虑因素的最近发现。