Fig. 2

Analyses of circulating cytokines by TNM stage of GC show important differences between different stages of GC and healthy controls. Circulating levels of IL-1β (a), IL-6 (b), IFN-γ (c), IL-10 (d), IL-8 (e), MCP-1 (f), TNF-α (g), and TGF-β (h) in healthy controls and gastric cancer patients classified according to the TNM staging as stage I/II, III, or IV were measured by ELISA or xMAP. All measurements were made in duplicate. The statistical analysis was performed by Mann–Whitney U test and results for each group are presented as median with interquartile range