In a first step, we investigated the association of serum levels of 12 pro-inflammatory chemokines with the presence of HCC: In HCC patients, 9 out of 12 chemokines showed significantly increased serum levels compared to cirrhotic patients without HCC (CCL2, CCL11, CCL17, CCL20, CXCL1, CXCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11) (Figure 1A). This evidence concerns the gene CXCL5 and hepatocellular carcinoma.