J Korean Surg Soc.  2011 Mar;80(3):182-188. 10.4174/jkss.2011.80.3.182.

Matrix Metalloproteinase 7 (MMP-7) Expression Predicts the Status of Lymph Node Metastasis in Early Gastric Cancer

• Jeong O
• Zhao XF
• Park YK
• Lee JH
• Kim YJ

• KMID: 1963581
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4174/jkss.2011.80.3.182

Abstract

PURPOSE
Accurate prediction of lymph node (LN) status is of crucial importance for appropriate treatment planning in early gastric cancer (EGC). Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of tumor progression and metastasis in gastric carcinoma. In this study, we investigated the association between MMPs expressions and LN metastasis in EGC.
METHODS
Thirty-four LN positive and 80 LN negative pT1 tumors were immunohistochemically analyzed for MMP-2, MMP-7, and MMP-9 expression. The relation of MMPs expressions to LN metastasis was analyzed in the univariate and multivariate model.
RESULTS
There were 73 men and 41 women with a mean age of 60 years. Among the pathologic characteristics, larger tumor size, submucosal invasion and lymphatic invasion were factors that are significantly associated with LN metastasis in pT1 tumors. Immunohistochemistry showed significantly higher MMP-7 expression (82.4% vs. 54.4%, P=0.005) in LN positive tumors, whereas MMP-9 (85.3% in LN positive vs. 67.5% in LN negative) and MMP-2 (70.6% in LN positive vs. 57.5% in LN negative) expression did not reach statistical significance. Multivariate analysis revealed that MMP-7 expression (OR 4.915, 95% CI 1.375~17.573) is an independent predictor of LN metastasis in EGCs, along with lymphatic invasion by tumor cells (OR 10.337, 95% CI 2.785~38.360).
CONCLUSION
Our study shows that MMP-7 expression is significantly associated with LN metastasis in EGC. MMP-7 expression can be used to predict LN status in EGCs in addition to other pathological parameters.

Keyword

Matrix metalloproteinases; Lymph node; Neoplasm metastasis; Stomach neoplasm

MeSH Terms

Female
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Lymph Nodes*
Male
Matrix Metalloproteinase 7*
Matrix Metalloproteinases
Multivariate Analysis
Neoplasm Metastasis*
Stomach Neoplasms*
Matrix Metalloproteinase 7
Matrix Metalloproteinases

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Representative histologic and immunohistochemical staining images of MMP-7 in pT1 gastric cancer with and without lymph node metastasis. Note that MMP-7 was immunostained in carcinoma cells at invasive fronts and in tumor budding cells in pT1 tumor with nodal metastasis (A), whereas no staining was observed in tumor cells at invasive fronts in pT1 tumor without nodal metastasis (B). Cytokeratin (CK) staining was used to improve the visualization of small numbers of tumor cells budding from invasive edges. The solid line indicates the invasive front. Magnification=200×, scale bars=100µm.

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