【摘要】目的：探讨65岁以上老年食管癌放疗患者血清白介素（IL）-37水平与放疗疗效、无进展生存期（PFS）等的相关性及其临床意义。方法：采用酶联免疫吸附实验（ELISA）法检测107例食管癌患者及107例健康对照的血清IL-37水平，分析两组之间的差异，并评估IL-37水平与食管癌分期、放疗疗效、PFS之间的相关性。结果：食管癌组与健康对照组相比，血清IL-37水平显著增高。IL-37水平与老年食管癌放疗患者的淋巴结转移、临床分期及疗效评估相关，生存分析显示高血清IL-37水平的患者放疗后PFS时间短。结论：血清IL-37水平是老年食管癌患者病情评估的重要指标，并与放疗后的预后相关。

Abstract Objective: To investigate the associations between serum levels of interleukin (IL)-37 and curative effect of radiotherapy, as well as progression-free survival (PFS) in esophageal carcinoma patients aged over 65. Methods: Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), serum levels of IL-37 were examined in 107 esophageal cancer patients and 107 healthy controls. The clinical correlation of IL-37 with clinicopathological parameters was evaluated. Results: Compared with healthy controls, serum IL-37 levels in esophageal cancer patients were significantly higher. High serum IL-37 levels were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, clinical stage and curative effect of radiotherapy. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the high-IL-37 group had worse PFS. Conclusions: Serum IL-37 level is an important biomarker for elder esophageal cancer patients in?evaluating severity and predicting prognosis.