ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the changes of immune function in patients with liver cancer after transcatheter arterial chemoembolizaton (TACE) combined with interstitial therapy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty patients with liver cancer were randomly divided into groups A and B to received TACE and TACE combined with percutaneous lipiodol and anti-cancer agent injection into the tumor. The T lymphocyte cell subsets in the peripheral blood before and one week after the operation were measured by flow cytometry, and the immunoglobulin contents determined by single radial immunodiffusion.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>CD3, CD4, and CD4/8 levels increased significantly after the operation in both groups A and B (P<0.05). The postoperative CD3 and CD4 levels, but not that of CD8, differed significantly between the two groups (P<0.05). The operations also resulted in an increase in the contents of the immunoglobulins and complements in the two groups, but the changes were not significant in group A (P>0.05); in group B, significant increases occurred in the immunoglobulin and complement levels (P<0.05) with the exception of C3.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The combination of TACE and interstitial therapy with percutaneous intratumor injections of lipiodol and anti-cancer agents may better improve the cell-mediated immunity and humoral immune function of liver cancer patients.</p>