title: Increased expression of COX-2 in recurrent basal cell carcinoma of the skin: a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent malignant skin tumor. BCC rarely metastasizes, but it is often locally aggressive. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is critical for tumor formation, angiogenesis and metastasis. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are the members of the family of zinc (Zn)- and calcium-dependent endopeptidases that degrade the extracellular matrix.
  
  
  METHODS
  In our study, we used immunohistochemical methods for the evaluation of COX-2, MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression in tissue samples of 30 primary and 10 recurrent skin BCC cases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Immunohistochemical COX-2 expression was significantly higher in the infiltrating pattern of BCC compared with the nodular (P = 0.005) and superficial (P = 0.041) subtypes in the primary BCC group. There was not a significant difference between nodular and superficial BCCs for COX-2 expression. In addition, COX-2 expression was significantly higher in the recurrent BCC group than in the primary BCC group (P = 0.030). There was no statistically significant difference between the histological subtypes of primary BCCs and between primary and recurrent BCCs for MMP-2 and MMP-9 expressions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data confirm previous findings that COX-2 and MMP-9 expressions are increased in BCC. Our results revealed an elevated COX-2 expression in recurrent BCCs. We suggest that COX-2 inhibition might have beneficial effects in BCCs, especially for the tumors with a higher level of COX-2 expression or aggressive phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Süleyman Demirel University Faculty of Medicine, Isparta, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nermin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Karahan
authors.forename: Sirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baspinar
authors.forename: Kemal Kursat
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Bozkurt
authors.forename: Eylem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Caloglu
authors.forename: Ibrahim Metin
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Ciris
authors.forename: Nilgun
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kapucuoglu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology*; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012008:Recurrence; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; C496540:PTGS2 protein, human; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9