We aimed to explore the roles of epidural block in combination with general anesthesia in the stress response and immune function of patients after surgery for cervical cancer. A total of 108 patients undergoing radical surgery of cervical cancer were randomly assigned into a general anesthesia combined with epidural block (observation) group and a general anesthesia (control) group. Peripheral blood was collected before anesthesia (t0), during anesthesia maintenance, as well as 10 min, 1 d, 2 d and 7 d after surgery. The levels of cytokines interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-4 (IL-4) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) were detected by ELISA, and IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio was calculated. Compared with the control group, the observation group had significantly lower levels of GH, PRL and Cor, proportions of Th2 and Treg cells, and levels of IL-4 and TGF-β1 during anesthesia maintenance and at each time point after surgery (P < 0.05), but higher proportion of Th1 cells, Th1/Th2 cell ratio, IFN-γ level and IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio (P < 0.05). General anesthesia in combination with epidural block can work better in mitigating the stress response and protecting the immune function of patients after cervical cancer surgery.
Keywords: Cervical cancer; Epidural block; General anesthesia; Immune; Stress response.
© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.