Abstract:

Objective  To investigate the impact of chemotherapy on CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in peripheral blood of the postoperative patients with esophageal cancer. Methods  35 postoperative esophageal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy were randomly selected. Proportions of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in peripheral blood of the patients were detected using FACSCalibur (FACScan) before and 1 week after chemotherapy, and were compared with those of 30 healthy volunteers who were randomly selected as the control group. Results  Proportions of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in peripheral blood of the 30 healthy volunteers and 35 patients before and 1 week after chemotherapy were （9.35±1.41）% vs (10.44±1.45)% and (10.44±1.45)% vs (11.67±1.56)% respectively，and there were significant differences between them（t=3.059,P＜0.05 and t=6.342,P＜0.01）. Conclusion  Chemotherapy could increase the proportion of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in peripheral blood of the postoperative patients with esophageal cancer.

Key words: Chemotherapy; Esophageal tumor; CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cell