These results lend credence to the hypothesis that overexpression of chemokine CXCL6 and its receptor CXCR2 in the tumor microenvironment is crucial for HCC development and progression, suggesting that dysregulated CXCL6/CXCR2 signaling facilitates tumour-associated macrophage (TAM) activation. Here, CXCR2 is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.