Clinical significance of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in patients with oral cancer

Abstract

Background: Factors that represent the potential for invasion and metastasis, such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), could predict prognosis of cancer. Therefore, the authors studied plasma and tissue levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in oral cancer, the leading malignancy in India.

Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and gelatin zymography were used for the MMP analysis from plasma and tissue samples, respectively.

Results: Latent, active, and total forms and activation ratio of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were significantly elevated in malignant tissues as compared with adjacent normal tissues. Activation of MMP-2 was higher than MMP-9 in malignant tissues. Activation ratio was significantly higher in malignant tissues of the patients with lymph node metastasis as compared with those without lymph node metastasis (p = .005). Plasma MMP-9 levels were significantly lower in responders as compared with pretreatment levels (p = .002).

Conclusion: The data indicate that MMP-2 and MMP-9 can be useful to identify metastatic phenotype as well as for treatment monitoring in oral cancer.