These analyses revealed that, in comparison to healthy individuals, patients with early gastric carcinoma had significantly higher mean values of IL-17 and lower mean values of IL-23, whereas individuals with advanced gastric carcinoma had mean IL-17 concentrations comparable to those observed in healthy individuals and IL-23 levels lower than those observed in both healthy controls and patients with early gastric carcinoma (Fig. 2). The gene discussed is IL17A; the disease is gastric carcinoma.