Crocetin imparts antiproliferative activity via inhibiting STAT3 signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma

STAT3 is a key oncogenic transcription factor, often overactivated in several human cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). STAT3 modulates the expression of genes that are connected with cell proliferation, antiapoptosis, metastasis, angiogenesis, and immune evasion in tumor cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of crocetin on the growth of HCC cells and dissected its underlying molecular mechanism in imparting a cytotoxic...