Multimodal clinical parameters-based immune status associated with the prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 3 Changes and impacts of cytokines and chemokines

Immunomodulatory factor	Quantitative changes and functional status
Th1 cytokines	The tumor microenvironment decreases and induces CD8+ T cells (IL-2 is significantly reduced, which is directly related to prognosis while the levels of TGF-β and IL-6 are increased. Others such as IFN-γ, IL-8, IL-15 and IL-18 have been implicated in invasion and metastasis)
Th2 cytokines	Elevated, associated with tumor progression (showing a shift from Th1 to Th2)
Pro-inflammatory cytokines	Involved in pathogenesis and tumor escape
Anti-inflammatory cytokines	Ascending, associated with progression (IL-6 is associated with poor prognosis. IL-37 expression levels were correlated with tumor burden and survival improvement)
Chemokine ligand-receptor axis	Relevant to tumor progression and metastasis (CCR6-CCL20 axis and CXCL12-CXCR4 axis expression were higher, which was positively correlated with clinical stage. Increased CXCR3 expression was correlated with tumor burden and cancer stage)

IL: Interleukin; TGF-β: Transforming growth factor β; IFN-γ: Interferon-γ; Th: T helper cell; CXCR: C-X-C chemokine receptor; CXCL: C-X-C motif chemokine ligand; CCL: C-C motif chemokine ligand; CCR: C-C chemokine receptor.