Objective To study the effects of three anesthetic techniques on the neuroendocrine and immune responses to surgical stress Methods Thirty patients undergoing elective upper abdominal surgery, were allocated randomly to epidural anesthesia group(groupⅠ), general anesthesia group (groupⅡ)and combination of epidural and general anesthesia group(group Ⅲ ) The serum concentrations of IL 6 and cortisol, and T cell subsections were measured respectively before induction, before incision, 1 h following the operation, at the operative end , on the first and fifth postoperative day Results Serum IL 6 concentrations increased significantly in groupⅠand Ⅱ(P0 05) during and after the operation, and serum IL 6 concentrations of all patients at the operative end were correlated positively to the operative duration (r=0 61, P