CXCL8 and cancer: On qRT–PCR, three genes (CXCR1, CXCL8, and TNFAIP3) were consistent with the RNA-seq results and were significantly different between P and S (Fig. 5), whereas CCL20 showed no significant difference between P and S. Both CXCR1 and TNFAIP3 showed decreased expression in the cancer samples; however, CXCR1 was more depressed under S, and TNFAIP3 was more depressed under P, indicating different levels of responses to anesthetic drugs.