ObjectiveTo explore the effects of intraoperative lymphatic chemotherapy (LC) on immune functions of patients after esophageal carcinoma resection. MethodsPatients who underwent intraoperative LC during esophageal carcinoma resection in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of West China Hospital from March to October,2013 were prospectively included in this study, and patients who underwent esophageal carcinoma resection without intraoperative LC during the same period were also included as the control group. All the patients were divided into a pacitaxel LC group,a fluorouracil LC group,and a control group without LC. A total of 37 patients were included in this study including 25 male and 12 female patients with their age of 42-76 (61.89±7.95) years. There were 15 patients in the pacitaxel LC group,15 patients in the fluorouracil LC group,and 7 patients in the control group. Representative indexes of humoral immunity and cellular immunity in peripheral blood of all the patients were examined preoperatively and on the third and seventh postoperative day, and then compared among the 3 groups. ResultsAll the immune indexes of the 3 groups decreased after surgery to different extent. There was no statistical difference in preoperative and postoperative difference of immunoglobulin concentration between LC groups and the control group (P>0.05). CD8+ T cell count recovered more rapidly after surgery in LC groups than the control group. CD3+ T cells recovered most rapidly after surgery in the fluorouracil LC group. ConclusionLC is beneficial for the recovery of cytotoxic effects of T lymphocytes but may not promote humoral immunity for patients after esophageal carcinoma resection.