In contrast, radiotherapy, and the release of antigens and inflammatory cytokines and chemokines – such as CC-chemokine ligand (CCL) 2 (CCL2), CCL4, CCL5, CXC-chemokine ligand (CXCL) 9 (CXCL9), CXCL10, CXCL12, IFNγ (encoded by IFNG), interleukin (IL) 1β (encoded by IL1B), IL-4, IL-6, IL-13, iNOS (encoded by NOS2), TNFα (encoded by TNF) and TGFβ1 (encoded by TGFB1) (Ansems and Span, 2020; Cytlak et al., 2022) – can result in tumour-promoting outcomes (Fig. 1). This evidence concerns the gene NOS2 and neoplasm.