To compare the expression difference of Th17 cell-related factors in the patients with different stages of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in order to analyze its clinical significance and therefore provide references for the future study of lung cancer immunity.

A total of 41 patients with NSCLC in our hospital from February 2016 to February 2019 were included in the experimental group, and 19 healthy people through the routine physical examination were taken as the healthy control group. All the selected cases received Th17 cell-related factor detection, including interleukin-17 (IL-17) and IL-21. The expression levels of Th17 cell-related factors between the healthy control group and the experimental group were compared, and the expression levels of Th17 cell-related factors of the patients with different genders and ages in the experimental group were compared respectively. The expression levels of Th17 cell-related factors in the patients with different pathological stages of NSCLC were compared, too. The correlation between the Th17 cell-related factors and the pathological stages of NSCLC was analyzed by Pearson correlation.

The ratio of Th17 cells and the expression levels of IL-17 and IL-21 in the experimental group were higher than those of the healthy control group (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference in the Th17 cells and the related factors among the NSCLC patients with different genders and ages (P>0.05). With the increase of tumor stages, the ratio of Th17 cells in the peripheral blood and the expression levels of IL-17 and IL-21 in the patients with NSCLC showed an increasing trend, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). The ratio of Th17 cells and the expression levels of IL-17 and IL-21 had positive correlation with the tumor stages of the NSCLC patients (r=0.620, 0.631 and 0.583, respectively, P<0.001).

The expression levels of Th17 cells in the peripheral blood of the patients with NSCLC are higher compared with those of the healthy persons and they increase with the progress of the disease. Detecting the levels of Th17 cells and the related factors in the peripheral blood of the patients with NSCLC has an important clinical significance in the judgment of the disease and the understanding of the immune function.