Cytokines that have been shown to impact on nutritional status in cachexia include C-reactive protein (CRP), tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 by triggering muscle wasting (Miyamoto et al. 2016) and negatively impacting survival in cancer (Lerner et al. 2015). The gene discussed is CXCL8; the disease is cancer.