To analyze the peripheral blood level and clinical significance of circulating endothelial cells (CECs) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Fifty-?five patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma receiving alone radiotherapy or concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy from January 2016 to October 2018 were selected as a nasopharyngeal carcinoma group, and 50 healthy adults who came to our hospital for physical examination during the same period were selected as a control group. The peripheral blood level of CECs was compared between two groups. The peripheral blood levels of CECs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma with different clinical and pathological data were analyzed, as well as the changes of peripheral blood level of CECs before and after treatment. The patients were divided into a complete remission (CR) group and an incomplete remission group (including partial remission, disease stability and disease progression) according to the efficacy. Continuous variables were expressed as ±s and compared by two-sample t-test; categorical variables were expressed as percentages, which compared by chi-square test.

The peripheral blood level of CECs in the nasopharyngeal carcinoma group before treatment (21.13±8.33) /μl was significantly higher than that in the control group (5.03±2.25) /μl (t?= 13.230, P?< 0.01) . The peripheral blood level of CECs before treatment in the nasopharyngeal carcinoma group in stage T3-T4 (23.23±8.09) /μl was significantly higher than that in the patients in stage T1-T2 (16.01±5.22, t = 3.290, P < 0.01) ; the level in stage N1-N3 (22.82±8.16) /μl was higher than that in stage N0 (15.06±3.98) , t =3.176, P < 0.01; the level in stage M1 (28.30±3.33) /μl was higher than that in stage M0 (19.91±8.23, t = 2.826, P < 0.01) ; the level in stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ (23.26±7.93) /μl was higher than that in stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ (17.93±5.63, t = 2.726, P < 0.01) . The peripheral blood level of CECs in peripheral blood of CR group before treatment (20.03±8.12) /μl, 3 months after treatment (12.61±5.33) /μl was significantly lower than that of the incomplete remission group [ (26.75±3.29) /μl, (19.03±2.62) /μl, t = 5.181, 5.507, P < 0.01].

The peripheral blood level of CECs in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma was significantly increased, and related to the progress of disease and effect of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and it may become a potential tumor marker.