This is in contrast to a previous study exploring the levels of inflammatory proteins in patients with chronic pancreatitis, wherein patients with mild to moderate pain were found to have elevated levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-2, tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and MCP-1 and patients with severe pain found to have increased levels of IL-4, IL-8, calcitonin gene receptor peptide (CGRP) and decreased TNF-α [60]. Here, CXCL8 is linked to chronic pancreatitis.