RESUMO
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>To study the immuno-function of erythrocytes and the influence of surgical treatment on it in the patients with lung cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 61 patients with lung cancer were studied, consisting of 35 non-operative patients and 26 post-operative patients. Their immuno-function of erythrocytes was analyzed and compared with 30 normal controls.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the post-operative group, the values of RBC C3BRRT and NTER were significantly higher than those of non-operative group (P < 0.01), but still lower than those of normal control group (P < 0.05); RFER, DTER, ETER and ATER higher than those of non-operative group (P < 0.01), and not significantly different from normal control group (P > 0.05); RBC ICR lower than that of non-operative group (P < 0.01), and not remarkably different from normal control group (P > 0.05); and RFIR lower than that of non-operative group (P < 0.01), however, still higher than that of normal control group (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The immuno-function of erythrocytes may be related to body tumor load of the patients with lung cancer, and it may gradually recover after the primary tumor is resected.</p>
