Abstract:

Objective    To explore expressions of and pathological relationship between matrix metalloproteinase-7(MMP-7) and matrix metalloproteinase- 2(MMP-2) in cancer tissues and its adjacent normal tissues of esophageal cancer patients. MethodsUsing RT-PCR, we detected the expressions of MMP-7 and MMP-2 in 60 cases of esophageal carcinoma tissues and adjacent normal tissues. Results    The positivity rates of MMP-7 and MMP-2 expressions were 90.0％(54/60) and 91.7%(55/60) in esophageal carcinoma tissues, and 48.3%(29/60)  and 65.0％（39/60）in adjacent normal tissues. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed a difference in expressions of MMP-7 and MMP-2 between carcinoma tissues and adjacent normal tissues (P＜0.01), and there was a relationship between expression of MMP-7 and both tumor invasion and lymph node metastasis (P＜0.05). There was a positive correlation between expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-7 in tumor tissues. Conclusions   MMP-7 and MMP-2 may function in early stage esophageal squamous cell carcinoma（ESCC）. The joint action of the genes for MMP-7 and MMP-2 can promote carcinogenesis and development of esophageal carcinoma.

Key words: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma； Matrix metalloproteinase-7； Matrix metalloproteinase-2