The post-hoc analysis of a phase 3 RCT of pirfenidone therapy (ASCEND and CAPACITY 1 and 2 trials) for IPF suggested that evaluations of a combination of CCL18, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 14, and total periostin were better at predicting the prognosis and therapeutic effect compared with any single biomarker21. This evidence concerns the gene CCL18 and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.