A potential part of this puzzle could be interleukin-1β, as inhibition of interleukin-1β was shown to lead to a decrease in lung cancer incidence as well as mortality in atherosclerotic patients [52], and high levels of interleukin-1β has been observed along with anaemia, neutrophilia, lymphopenia, low levels of albumin, and increased CRP in patients with rheumatic disease [53]. Here, CRP is linked to anemia (phenotype).