To explore the clinical value of absolute count of peripheral lymphocytes in monitoring immune status of cancer patients with surgery therapy, we retrospectively analyzed the absolute counts of peripheral T-lymphocytes subsets and NK cells before and after surgery in patients with colorectal cancer or esophageal cancer.

Retrospectively analyzed the absolute counts of T lymphocytes and NK cells and the correlation between lymphocytes counts and tumor progression or pathological staging as well as dynamic characteristics of lymphocyte counts during perioperation in 64 cases of colorectal cancer and 55 cases of esophageal cancer with surgery therapy.

(1) In patients with colorectal cancer, CD3⁺T lymphocytes, CD3⁺ CD4⁺ T lymphocytes and CD3⁺CD8⁺ T lymphocytes counts gradually increased from stageⅠto stageⅣ, but only CD3⁺CD4⁺ T lymphocytes and CD3⁺CD8⁺T lymphocytes increased significantly (P<0.05). No striking difference were found on the absolute counts of lymphocytes from stage Ⅰ to stageⅣafter surgery therapy. (2) In patients with esophageal cancer, the counts of preoperative T lymphocytes subsets in Ⅰ-Ⅳ stage has no significant difference (P>0.05); and the count of postoperative CD3⁺, CD3⁺CD4⁺, CD3⁺CD8⁺T lymphocytes gradually increased from stageⅠto stageⅢ (P<0.05). (3) In higher differentiated tumor lower preoperative counts of peripheral T lymphocytes existed in the patients with colorectal cancer (P>0.05). Patients with metastasis have more counts of T lymphocytes subsets and lower count of NK cells than that of patients without metastasis, and only CD3⁺CD8⁺T lymphocytes significantly increased (P<0.05). There was no association between peripheral T lymphocytes count and degree of tumor differentiation or tumor metastasis in patients with esophageal cancer. (4) Dynamic analysis of absolute counts of perioperative T lymphocyte subsets and NK cells showed that postoperative T lymphocytes and NK cells firstly strikingly decreased (P<0.05), then increased (P<0.05).

The correlation of peripheral T lymphocytes or NK cells count with TNM staging, degree of tumor differentiation as well as tumor metastasis was not the same between colorectal cancer and esophageal cancer. In patients with colorectal cancer the responsively increasing preoperative T lymphocytes counts and suppression of preoperative NK cells may be caused by high tumor burden and poorly differentiated tumor; surgery trauma could cause transiently decrease of postoperative T lymphocytes and NK cells.