Objective:The purpose of this randomized

controlled

clinical study was to investigate the effects of soybean oil emulsion on inflammatory response and immune function after surgery for esophageal cancer. Methods: Patients who underwent esophagectomy were divided into two groups. Group A( n = 15)

the control group

received fat - free parenteral nutrition(PN). Group B( n = 18)re-ceived PN with soybean oil emulsion. There was no signficant difference between the two groups in regard to clinical backgrounds or non - protein calorie. Results: In both groups

the serum levels of IL - 6 were significantly higher on the first and third postoperative days. IL-6 levels in group B

however

were significantly higher than in group A. The serum concentration of IL- 10 showed a trend similar to that of IL-6.Serum IL-6 showed a significant positive correlation with IL- 10 on the 3rd day after the operation. The ratio of IL-6 to IL - 10 increased after the operation in both groups

and significant differences were observed between the two groups. CD4+ /CD8+ and NK cell activity significantly decreased postoperatively. Also

between group A and B there were statistically significant differences in CD4+ /CL8+ . Suppression of cellular immunity correlated significantly with serum IL- 6

and was preceded by a rise in serum IL- 6. Conclusion : Perioperative PN with excessive levels of soybean oil emulsion after a severely stressful operation has been shown to increase the production of inflammatory cytokines and promote immunosuppression.