TNFAIP8 and neoplasm: Next, we examined TNFAIP8 expression in fresh tumour and normal tissues by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and found that the mean relative TNFAIP8 mRNA expression levels were significantly increased in tumour tissues (n = 20) compared with normal lung tissues (n = 20); indeed, tumour tissues exhibited ~ 8.1-fold increased TNFAIP8 mRNA levels compared with normal tissues (Fig. 1c).