IL1B and cancer: Moreover, Matamoros et al. found that local expression of IL-1β and IL-18 was significantly reduced in cervical tissues of patients with cancer compared to that in samples from normal control group, demonstrating that an increase in the risk of progression of pre-neoplastic lesions to cancer was found to be 2.5 and 2.08 times higher in women with lower IL-1β and IL-18 expression, respectively [65].