Objective       To investigate different responses of preoperative and postoperative serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP)

tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) and traditional open esophageal resection (OPEN).       Methods        Twenty patients receiving MIE (MIE group) and traditional OPEN (OPEN group) in thoracic surgery department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from Jan 2009 to Feb 2011 were chosen (n=10). High-sensitive CRP analysis and double-antibody sandwich ELISA (ABC-ELISA) were applied to detect CRP value and serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 before and at 4

24

48

74

120 and 168 h after operation

respectively.       Results       The differences of preoperative and postoperative serum levels of TNF-α of the two groups were not statistically significant (P0.05)

while the differences of serum levels of CRP at postoperative 4

24 and 120 h were statistically significant (P0.05)

as well as IL-6 level at each postoperative time point (P0.05). Two-factor repeatedly measured analysis of variance indicated that there was statistically significant difference of IL-6 level at each postoperative time point between the MIE and OPEN groups

and there was an interaction between operation type and time.       Conclusion       Compared with traditional OPEN

MIE can possibly reduce postoperative release of inflammatory cytokines and inflammatory responses.