Abstract: Objective To investigate the effectsof propofol on peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and serum tumor related markers in patients with primary liver cancer（PLC） receiving partial hepatectomy（PH）. Methods A total of 92 patients with PLC were recruited in our hospital between February 2010 and April 2014,and were divided into propofol and isoflurane group,with 46 in each when PH was done. The percentages of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets were detected by FCM,and serum E-cadherin（EC）,vascular endothelial growth factor（VEGF） and matrix metalloproteinase（MMP） levels were detected by ELISA. Results The percentages of peripheral blood CD3⁺,CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ cells,and the ratio of CD4⁺/CD8⁺ showed no significant differences between the two groups before anesthesia（P>0.05）,while 1 day after operation,the percentage of CD3⁺ and CD4⁺ cells were （56.3±4.8）% and （36.8±5.7）% in the propofol group,significantly higher than （52.5±4.5）% and （34.2±4.2）% in the isoflurane group （P<0.05）;before anesthesia,there was no significant difference as recpect to serum EC,VEGF and MMP levels between the two group（P>0.05）,while 14 days after operation,serum levels of these three cytokines were （1763±112.7） ng/ml,（201.9±36.9） pg/ml and（32.4±4.2） ng/L in the propofol group,significantly lower than （2318±153.9） ng/ml,（369.9±56.8） pg/mL and（72.5±7.2） ng/L in the isoflurane group （P<0.05）;the incidence rate of leukopenia in the propofol group was significantly lower than that in the isoflurane group（47.8% vs. 69.6%,P<0.05）;there were no significant differences between the two groups as respect to the postoperative 3-year survival rates（P>0.05）. Conclusion Propofol can effectively relieve the postoperative immunosuppression in patients with PLC,which might inhibit tumor cell metastasis and improve the recovery.

Key words: Hepatoma, Aneasthesia, Propofol, Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets, Serum tumor related markers