title: VEGF and metalloproteinase 2 (MMP 2) expression in gastric cancer tissue.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neoplasms are the second leading cause of death in Poland after vessel diseases, despite the huge progress in medical sciences in the last 20 years. Recently, gastric cancer morbidity has decreased, but mortality is still at a high level.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tissues from 24 patients with a histopathologically diagnosed mucosal and adenomucosal gastric cancer were tested. Patients were divided into 2 equal groups: patients without metastases (G1) and patients with metastases in the liver (G2). In all tested tissues of G1 and G2, the expression of VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) and metalloproteinase 2, respectively, were estimated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results revealed a statistically significant increase in the VEGF expression for G1 and G2 in relation to the margin (p1<0.001; p2<0.001). The increase of gene expression for VEGF did not significantly differ statistically in G1 and G2. The obtained results revealed a statistically significant difference in the increase of gene expression for MMP-2 in G1 in relation to the margin (p<0.05) and a very high one in G2 in relation to the average margin value (p<0.001). A highly statistically significant correlation was obtained for VEGF and MMP-2 in the tissue of patients with metastases (p<0.001; r=0.714). The highly elevated expression of MMP-2 in the tissue of gastric cancer in patients with metastases confirms its participation in the invasiveness of the neoplasmatic process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The highly significant correlation between VEGF and MMP-2 suggests a connection between both mechanisms in the progression of gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Division of Anesthesiology and Intensive Treatment of the Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Treatment and Emergency Medicine, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland. anestitsos@sum.edu.pl
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Partyka
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gonciarz
authors.forename: Przemysław
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jałowiecki
authors.forename: Danuta
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kokocińska
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Byrczek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C522361:MMP2 protein, human; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2