First, the TCGA dataset demonstrated that the expression of three pro-inflammatory genes, which are well established as tumor-promoting factors in breast cancer (37–39, 62–64)—CCL2, CXCL8 and PTGS2 that codes for Cox-2—was significantly elevated in breast tumors that expressed high levels of both TNFα and TGFβ1 together [Figure 4A; similar analyses could not be performed with the METABRIC dataset because TNFα and TGFβ1 (mostly the latter) were not properly detected in the original array that generated the dataset]. Here, CXCL8 is linked to breast cancer.