Inflammation and detection: Rethinking the biomarker landscape in gastric cancer

Table 1 Diagnostic and prognostic value of cytokines in gastric cancer

Cytokine	Change in GC vs control	Diagnostic performance	Therapeutic/prognostic notes		Ref.
IL-1β	Increased in GC	AUC = 0.7; sensitivity approximately 0.76, specificity approximately 0.43	Central in Helicobacter pylori-driven inflammation; blocking IL-1β (e.g., canakinumab) is feasible; associated with tumor invasiveness and poor prognosis		Ren et al[1], Sánchez-Zauco et al[5]
IL-6	Increased in GC	AUC = 0.72; meta analysis: Sensitivity 0.80, specificity 0.86, AUC = 0.90	Potent growth and survival factor via Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3; high IL-6 predicts worse survival and chemoresistance		Ren et al[1], Kai et al[9], Janiczek-Polewska et al[10], Wang et al[12], Laurino et al[14]
IL-8	Increased in GC	AUC = 0.78; evidence mixed (some studies report no difference)	Promotes angiogenesis/metastasis; IL-8/CXC chemokine receptor 1 and 2 inhibitors reverse platinum resistance in preclinical GC models; rising IL-8 after treatment predicts chemoresistance		Ren et al[1], Liu et al[13], Jiang et al[15], Limpakan Yamada et al[16]
IFN-γ	Increased in GC	AUC = 0.65 (below 0.7)	Key T-cell cytokine; might reflect immune activation rather than tumor presence; Sánchez-Zauco et al[5] found it up in early GC; role in immunotherapy contexts		Ren et al[1], Sánchez-Zauco et al[5]
Multi-cytokine panel (IL-1β + IL-6 + IFN-γ)	Increased in GC	AUC = 0.888	Best diagnostic performance; synergistic detection		Ren et al[1]

AUC: Area under the curve; GC: Gastric carcinoma; IFN-γ: Interferon-gamma; IL: Interleukin.