IL1B and cancer: Although increased IL-1 signaling is typically associated with poor prognosis in cancer patients [3–5], the role of IL-1 signaling in cancer is controversial since IL-1 plays roles in both tumor promotion via the expression of genes involved in tumor survival, angiogenesis, metastasis, and immune cell recruitment [6–8] and tumor suppression via increased natural killer (NK) cell activity and enhanced Th1-mediated immunity [9, 10].