Preoperative serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and survival of breast cancer among Korean women.
BACKGROUND
Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) has been thought of as a predictor of recurrence or metastasis risk or prognostic markers in cancer. We evaluated whether preoperative serum levels of MMP-2 work as a prognostic biomarker in breast cancer prognosis.


METHODS
Preoperative serum levels of MMP-2 were measured with ELISA in 303 patients with histologically confirmed breast cancer. The median follow-up time for all patients was 4.24 years. The relationship of MMP-2 to survival was investigated using Cox proportional hazard regression model adjusted for the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage and estrogen receptor (ER) status.


RESULTS
In the multivariate analysis, disease-free survival (DFS) was worse among patients with the third tertile of MMP-2 level than with the first tertile of MMP-2 level [hazard ratio, 1.80; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04-3.11; P = 0.04]. However, when the patients were stratified by age, ER status, histologic grade, and nuclear grade, inverse correlation was shown between serum MMP-2 levels and prognostic factors, and the associations between MMP-2 and DFS were only significant among patients with poor prognostic factors (HR, 2.75; 95% CI, 1.32-5.73 in ER-negative; HR, 2.90; 95% CI, 1.42-5.92 in histologic grade III; and HR, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.26-5.39 in nuclear grade III).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that the preoperative serum levels of MMP-2 were associated with the survival in patients with breast cancer in ER-negative, higher histologic grade, or higher nuclear grade breast cancers.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that serum levels of MMP-2 may play a role as prognostic biomarker in breast cancer survival.
Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Nan
N
Song
Hyuna
H
Sung
Ji-Yeob
JY
Choi
Sohee
S
Han
Sujee
S
Jeon
Minkyo
M
Song
Yunhee
Y
Lee
Chulbum
C
Park
Sue K
SK
Park
Kyoung-Mu
KM
Lee
Keun-Young
KY
Yoo
Dong-Young
DY
Noh
Sei-Hyun
SH
Ahn
Sang-Ah
SA
Lee
Daehee
D
Kang
D000328:Adult; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D057234:Preoperative Period; D011379:Prognosis; D056910:Republic of Korea; D016019:Survival Analysis
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D020778:Matrix Metalloproteinase 2