Background and purpose: Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma

nasal type (ENKTL) belongs to a rare type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Its incidence rate in Asian country is higher than that in Western country. This disease is highly invasive

the pathogenesis of it is still unclear. Resent research shows that epstein-barr virus (EBV) is closely related to the occurrence of it. There is still no standard treatment guidelines of ENKTL

and the prognosis is very bad. Therefore

it is imperative to explore the pathogenesis of ENKTL. This study aimed to investigate the expressions of interleukin-2 (IL-2)

interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the serum of ENKTL patients and their clinical significances. Methods: Luminex liquid chip technology was used to detect the expression levels of IL-2

IL-6 and TNF-α in the serum of 67 ENKTL patients and 26 normal persons. Results: The expression levels of IL-2

IL-6 and TNF-α in the serum of 67 ENKTL patients were (564.1±387.6)

(293.3±191.6) and (181.3±91.8)pg/mL

while in the normal persons were (1 097.0±365.7)

(417.5±289.6) and (291.3±89.4)pg/mL

respectively. Compared with normal persons

the expression levels of IL-2

IL-6 and TNF-α in ENKTL patients were significantly lower (P0.05). Further study showed that the expression level of TNF-α in 5 complete remission ENKTL patients [(162.7±10.3)pg/mL] was significantly higher than that in initial treatment patients [(125.2±7.3)pg/mL

P0.05]. Conclusion: The expressions of IL-2

IL-6 and TNF-α are reduced in the serum of ENKTL patients

and the serum expression level of TNF-α is closely related to the effect of chemotherapy.