Furthermore, differences in prior hepatitis treatment with interferon or nucleos(t)ide analogs may have had an effect on cytokine levels of non-HCC cases, and previous studies have seen some cytokine levels change after hepatitis therapy (i.e. TNF-α, IL-8, sFas ligand, beta 2-microglobulin, neopterin, and soluble IL-2 receptor)34–38. Here, B2M is linked to hepatitis A virus infection.