CXCL9 and neoplasm: The expression levels of CXCL9 were found to be significantly higher in TCGA_HNSC tumor samples in comparison to the healthy control samples, as depicted in Fig. 3D. The results of CXCL9 expression pattern in serum showed the consistent tendency: The serum concentration of CXCL9 displayed a notable elevation among patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in contrast to those in the control group of healthy individuals [20].