The univariate age‐ and sex‐adjusted model using log2‐transformed continuous variables showed that a doubling of CRP (OR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.18–1.43, p < 0.001), IL‐6 (OR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.07–1.34, p = 0.001) and YKL‐40 (OR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.09–1.51, p = 0.003) were associated with an increased risk of cancer. This evidence concerns the gene IL6 and cancer.