Korean J Otolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  1998 Aug;41(8):1041-1046.

Expression of Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 in the Cervical Lymph NodeMetastasis of the Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma-A Clinicopathologic Study-

• Kim SH
• Cho JS
• Lim SC
• Baik J
• Park CS

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Death as a result of cancer is primarily due to regional and/or systemic metastasis. The first essential step of metastasis is active migration of cancer cells from their tissue organ. It is associated with the degradation of extracellular matrix macromolecule, including the basement membrane component of vessels and interstitial stroma. Matrix metalloproteinase-2, one of many matrix degrading enzymes, has been identified as a basement membrane-degrading enzyme and is thought to play an important role in the malignant behavior of cancer. But only a little is known about clinicopathologic features of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in the relation to the production of MMP-2. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between MMP-2 expression in the cancer cell membrane and ervical lymph node metastasis in the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma using immunohistochemistry.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Tissues were obtained from 55 patients with head and neck cancer who underwent the surgery of primary tumor resection and radical neck dissection. And paraffin embedded 5nm thin sections were immunohistochemically stained for MMP-2.
RESULTS
1) Immunoreactivity for MMP-2 was detected primarily in the cancer cell nests, whereas it was either not observed or observed infrequently and only faintly in the normal epithelium. 2) Metastasis to a lymph node was more frequently observed with the MMP-2 production in the head and neck cancer than that with no expression of MMP-2 (p<0.01). 3)There was no significant correlation between the expression of MMP-2 and the patient's age, tumor size, primary tumor site, clinical tumor stage (TNM classification), and histologic grading.
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that intensity of MMP-2 expression in the cancer nests may be a biochemical parameter to predict a metastatic potential, prognosis, and aggressiveness of the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Keyword

Matrix metalloproteinase-2; Cervical lymph node metastasis; Squamous cell carcinoma

MeSH Terms

Basement Membrane
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
Cell Membrane
Epithelium
Extracellular Matrix
Head and Neck Neoplasms
Head*
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Lymph Nodes
Matrix Metalloproteinase 2*
Neck Dissection
Neck*
Neoplasm Metastasis
Paraffin
Prognosis
Matrix Metalloproteinase 2
Paraffin