CXCL12 and type 2 diabetes mellitus: Finally, we have also compared the serum levels of these proteins in patients with T2D and HCC evidencing that glucagon, HGF, β-NGF, CXCL1, CXCL9, CXCL12, IFN-α, IL-2R, IL-16, IL-18, PECAM-1 and Prolactin are higher in HCC patients, whereas leptin, sVEGFR-1 and sVEGFR-2 are lower than in patients with T2D.