As shown in Tables 2 and 3, increasing levels of plasma IL-6 associate with increasing risk of these advanced pathologies in a dose-dependent manner: for example, individuals with the highest quartiles of plasma IL-6 concentration had a 19 times greater risk of developing APF and a 150 times greater risk of developing CCA than individuals with undetectable levels of plasma IL-6 (<0.01 g/mL). This evidence concerns the gene IL6 and cholangiocarcinoma.