Effect of acupuncture on immunomodulation in patients with malignant tumors

In order to investigate the role of acupuncture in the regulation of cellular immune function, the changes of T lymphocyte subsets (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (SIL-2 R) and beta-endorphine (beta-EP) in the peripheral blood of patients with malignant tumors before and after acupuncture were observed with double blind method. Forty patients were divided randomly into two groups, 20 for each. One group treated with acupuncture and the other one for control. Results showed that acupuncture has the effect of enhancing the cellular immunity of patient with malignant tumor. Acupuncture treatment could increase the percentage of T lymphocyte subsets CD3+, CD4+ and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio (P < 0.01) and the level of beta-EP, as well as decrease the level of SIL-2 R (P < 0.01). The correlation analysis of the three criteria showed there was a positive correlation between beta-EP and T lymphocyte subsets and a negative correlation between beta-EP and SIL-2 R, there was also a negative correlation between T lymphocyte subsets and SIL-2 R. Based on these results, a discussion on the acupuncture immunomodulation network was conducted in this article in order to explore the possible mechanism of acupuncture on immunomodulation.