Expression Of MMP-2 And MMP-3 In Human Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer And Its Significance

Objectives: To investigate the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-3 in human non-small cell lung cancer and to evaluate how the two indicators relate to patients' sex, age, tumor size, pathological type, and clinic phrase, etc.Methods: The expression of MMP-2 and MMP-3 was detected in 45 NSCLC samples and 20 para-cancerous normal lung tissues by immunohisto- chemical method, and the results were compared with consideration to patient's clinicopathological data.Results: The expression of MMP-2 in NSCLC werel2 negative, 18 + cases, 15 ++ cases, zero +++ cases, the expression of MMP-2 in normal lung tissues were 16 negative, 4 + cases, and no ++ and +++ cases. The difference is statistically significant (X~2 =16.06, P<0.05).The expression of MMP-3 in NSCLC were 3 negative, 24 + cases, 6 ++ cases, no +++ cases. MMP-3 was not expressed in all 20 normal lung tissues. The difference is statistically significant (X~2 =52.75, P<0.05).Positive expression rates of MMP-2 and MMP-3 in NSCLC have no significant link with pathological type, age, sex, tumor size (P>0.05). The positive expression of MMP-2 was associated with TNM stage, pathological differentiation and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). However, the expression of MMP-3 in NSCLC tissues was notassociated with patients' clinicopathological features (P>0.05).Conclusion Expression of MMP-2 in NSCLC is different within patients who have different TNM stage, pathological differentiation and lymph node metastasis: Expression of MMP-2 in tissue of high differentiation is lower than that of low differentiation;with lymph node metastasis is higher than without metastasis;TNM III-IV is higher than I-II.Expression of MMP-3 in NSCLC does not show significant difference between different differentiation grades, with or without lymph node metastasis, and different TNM phrases.MMP-2 and MMP-3 were good tumor markers. The expression of MMP-2 is closely correlated with the invasion and metastasis of lung carcinoma. The expression of MMP-3 may be not a critical factor that affects the invasion and metastasis of lung carcinoma.Significance: research on the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-3 may improve the understanding of biological features at generic level on invasion, spread, and metastasis, facilitate the clinical diagnosis on metastasis and relapse, seek new treatment target, and meliorate patients' prognosis.