The systemic levels of proinflammatory cytokines in female patients with persistent HPV infection were evaluated by Kemp et al (103), who found significantly elevated levels of IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, IL-1α and IL-1β in the plasma of the patients with the infection compared with uninfected individuals. This evidence concerns the gene CXCL8 and infection.