STAT3 Regulates Proliferation and Immunogenicity of the Ewing Family of Tumors In Vitro

The Ewing sarcoma family of tumors (ESFT) represents an aggressive spectrum of malignant tumour types with common defining histological and cytogenetic features. To evaluate the functional activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in ESFT, we evaluated its activation in primary tissue sections and observed the functional consequences of its inhibition in ESFT cell lines. STAT3 was activated (tyrosine 705-phosphorylated) in 18 out of 31 primary tumours (58%), either diffusely (35%) or focally (23%). STAT3 was constitutively activated in 3 out of 3 ESFT cell lines tested, and its specific chemical inhibition resulted in complete loss of cell viability. STAT3 inhibition in ESFT cell lines was associated with several consistent changes in chemokine profile suggesting a role of STAT3 in ESFT in both cell survival and modification of the cellular immune environment. Together these data support the investigation of STAT3 inhibitors for the Ewing family of tumors.