As cytokine release could be influenced by tumour unspecific factors such as infections and steroid administration, we compared clinical markers of systemic inflammation—particularly white blood cell (WBC) count, blood neutrophil percent (%neutrophil), blood lymphocyte percent (%lymphocyte), CRP and LDH—with serum IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 levels to assess possible associations (Fig. 3). Here, IL6 is linked to infection.