In analyses by menopausal status at diagnosis (Fig. 3), among postmenopausal women, IL-6 was positively associated with all-cause mortality (HR1-SD 1.41, 95% CI 1.18–1.69; PHet pre/post = 0.008) and BC-specific mortality (HR1-SD 1.31, 95% CI 1.03–1.66; PHet pre/post = 0.007), while IL-10 and TNF-α were positively associated with all-cause mortality only. Here, IL6 is linked to breast cancer.