Cancer, often called neoplasms and malignant tumours, is a group of disorders characterized by the uncontrolled division and growth of abnormal cells within the body [1], [2]. Stimulation of oncogenes and inactivation of transcription factors are the principal pathophysiological reasons for cancer initiation [3]. Cancer has more than two hundred forms, affecting more than sixty of the organs of the human body [4]. Metastasis, a stage of cancer, is the rapid development of aberrant cells that outgrow their normal bounds and can infect surrounding body parts and move to other organs [5]. Widespread metastases are the main reasons for the increased death rate in cancer patients [6]. According to an estimation by the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer accounted for nearly 10 million deaths worldwide in 2020, with 2.26 million new cases of breast cancer, 2.21 million cases of lung cancer, 1.93 million colon and rectum cancer, 1.41 million prostate cancer, 1.20 million skin cancer or non-melanoma, and 1.09 million stomach cancer [7], [8]. In the same year, mortalities due to lung cancer were most prevalent, causing 1.80 million deaths, followed by deaths caused by colon and rectum, liver, stomach, and breast cancer, accounting for 916,000, 830,000, 769,000, and 685,000 deaths, respectively. The formidable fact about cancer is that it affects approximately 400,000 children annually, and there will likely be 23.6 million additional cases of malignant tumours by the year 2030 [9], [10]. Amongst different treatment approaches, including chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and hormone therapy, chemotherapy is preferred alone or in combination with other approaches [11], [12]. However, chemotherapeutic agents are associated with several drawbacks, such as unspecific targeting of cancer cells, toxicity, and multiple drug resistance. Owing to the lethal characteristics and universal prevalence of cancer, there is a keen need to develop novel target-based anticancer drugs to treat cancer [13], [14].

The Janus kinase-Signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway significantly influences cancer formation and progression [15], [16], [17]. In 1988, the proteins known as STATs were initially identified [18], [19]. After JAKs were found in three independent labs in 1992, the JAK-STAT pathway was subsequently termed. It controls the signaling system, immunological responses, cell survival, and proliferation [20], [21]. By encouraging unchecked cell proliferation, evading cell death, and stimulating tumor angiogenesis, the dysregulation of this system can aid in cancer development [22], [23]. Additionally, the JAK-STAT pathway can encourage inflammation and aid in tumor immune evasion, creating an environment favorable to tumor growth [24], [25]. Several JAK and STAT inhibitors are being researched and tested in clinical trials to treat different forms of cancer since targeting this system has shown promising effects in cancer therapy [26], [27].