CCL2 and inflammation: Previous studies have shown that post-RAGE signaling promotes the production of several growth factors and cytokines, e.g., platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) [13], which might be associated with aggravating tumor-related systemic inflammation and elevated NLRs [14, 15].