Influence of Transcatheter Arterial Chemoembolization on Cellular Immune Function of Patients with Different TCM Syndrome Types of Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Objective To observe the influence of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization(TACE) on cellular immune function of patients with different syndrome types in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) of primary hepatocellular carcinoma(PHC).Methods A prospective controlled study was applied,a total of 92 PHC patients who received TACE treatments were divided into 4 groups according to the type of Chinese clinical sign at the time of admission:Group 1,liver and spleen deficiency type(n=12);Group 2,blood stasis type(n=30);Group 3,damp heat toxin stasis type(n=32);and Group 4,liver-kidney week type(n=18).Immune function of the patients and its′ relationship with TCM syndrome type were studied before and after TACE the treatment.Results All the 92 patients received a total of 219 times of TACE treatment.No statistic difference was found in group 1;group 2 and group 3 of cellular immune function before and after treatment(P0.05),The numbers of CD3,CD4,CD8,NK cells of group 4 were(52.1±5.5),(33.9±5.7),(49.8±7.3),(5.8±2.9),respectively before TACE treatment,and(46.6±6.7),(28.9±6.8),(55.9±4.9),(4.5±2.1) respectively after the treatment.There was a statistically significant difference of immune function before and after treatment in group 4(P0.05),indicating a decreased cellular immune function after the treatment.Four patients in group 2 got more serious after TACE treatment in condition of syndrome transformation from blood stasis type to damp heat toxin stasis type.The numbers of CD3,CD4,CD8,NK cells were(60.1 ±1.3),(41.1±2.2),(39.9±2.9),(11.9±1.3) respectively before TACE treatment,and(56.2±2.5),(37.8±2.4),(43.9± 2.2),(9.8±1.1) respectively after the treatment.Six patients in group 3 had a syndrome transformation from damp heat toxin stasis type to liver-kidney week type.The numbers of CD3,CD4,CD8,NK cells were(56.1±2.4),(36.8±2.7),(44.9±2.1),(9.0±1.3) respectively before TACE treatment,and(51.3±3.2),(33.1±1.9),(49.8±2.1),(5.5±1.7) respectively after the treatment.There was a statistically significant difference of immune function before and after the treatment in group 3(P0.05),indicating a decreased cellular immune function after the treatment.Conclusion The influence exerted by TACE treatment on cellular immune function of PHC patients becomes heavier as TCM syndrome type get more serious.And the patients' cellular immune function decreases following the worsening of Chinese clinical syndrome.