MMP2 and cancer: We examined serum levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α), which regulate immune responses, cell proliferation, and differentiation; matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2, MMP-9), which remodel and degrade ECM and mediate cell–cell adhesion; acute-phase proteins (CRP, SAA1), which are linked to the expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and play a role, among others, in the recruitment of immune cells to inflammatory sites; and metabolic markers (glucose, lactate, and LDH), which are associated with glucose metabolism in cancer cells, known as the Warburg effect.