Abstract:Objective To investigate the influence of different ways of anesthesia on immunity of colorectal cancer patients undergoing CO2 pneumoperitoneum laparoscopy. Methods Totally 288 patients who received colorectal cancer surgery under CO2 pneumoperitoneum laparoscopy in our hospital from January 2013 to December 2015. General anesthesia (GA), epidural anesthesia (EA) or epidural anesthesia combined with 6% hydroxyethyl starch solution acute hemodilution (EA+AHH) were performed during surgery. Operation time, blood loss, perioperative adverse events, complications within 1 month post-surgery, cell and humoral immunity and serum levels of inflammatory factors were collected. Results No significant differences in operative time and blood loss were noticed among groups. Blood pressure fluctuation, VAS score, adverse reactions, infection rates and inflammatory factors in (EA + AHH) group were decreased significantly compared with GA or EA. Patients in EA + AHH experienced enhanced levels of CD3+, CD4+, NK cell, C3, and C4 when compared with those in GA or EA group. Conclusion EA + AHH significantly improves the cellular and humoral immunity of patients with colorectal cancer undergoing CO2 pneumoperitoneum laparoscopic surgery, reducing postoperative infection rate.