Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of grain-shaped moxibustion in reinforcing healthy qi and dispelling pathogen and to explore the possible mechanisms of grain-shaped moxibustion in improving immune function of patients through determining the expression level of IL-12 in peripheral blood of patients. Methods Seventy patients undergoing chemotherapy due to deficiency of both qi and blood type of malignant tumor in the departments of traditional Chinese medicine and oncology in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University Medical School from January 2014 to January 2015 were randomly divided into a chemotherapy group（group A） and a chemotherapy combined with grain-shaped moxibustion group（group B） by sortition, 35 cases in each one. Patients in both groups received chemotherapy, while patients in group B also received grain-shaped moxibustionat on bilateral Zúsānl（足三里 ST 36）, which was performed once daily, 7 cones every time, for a total of continuous 20 days. Before and after treatment, the expression level of IL-12 in peripheral blood of patients was determined using ELISA method. Results After chemotherapy, the expression level of IL-12 in patients was significantly lower than that before treatment. After two courses of adjuvant therapy of grain-shaped moxibustion, the expression level of IL-12 in chemotherapy patients slightly increased and the difference was statistically significant（P〈0.05）. Conclusion Grain-shaped moxibustion can increase the expression of IL-12 in peripheral blood of patients, promote the T cellmediated immune response and achieve immunoregulation and anti-tumor effects.
