title: Prognostic significance of MMP-7 expression in colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) is a member of the family of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs); it is associated with invasive tumor growth and distant metastasis in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the prognostic value of MMP-7 in CRC remains controversial. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the prognostic value of MMP-7 expression in CRC.
  
  
  METHODS
  We systematically searched for studies evaluating the relationship between MMP-7 expression and the outcome of CRC patients in PubMed, the Cochrane library, Embase, Google Scholar, and Wanfang databases updated to August 2014. Studies were assessed for quality using REMARK (REporting recommendations for tumor MARKer prognostic studies). Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were pooled to estimate the hazard for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), and odds ratios (ORs) with 95%CIs were pooled to estimate the impact of MMP-7 on the 5-year survival rate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 2985 patients from 17 studies were included in this meta-analysis. Our results showed that MMP-7 over-expression predicted poor OS (HR=3.57, 95%CI 2.21-5.75, P=0.000, random-effect model), poor DFS (HR=2.49, 95%CI 1.73-3.57, P=0.000, fixed-effect model), and decreased 5-year survival rate (OR=0.26, 95%CI 0.19-0.37, P=0.000, fixed-effect model). Therefore, MMP-7 is an indicator of poor survival and high recurrence rate in CRC patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MMP-7 can serve as a prognostic indicator and a potential novel target for treatment in CRC patients. More well-designed prospective studies with better methodology for MMP-7 assessment are required to clarify the prognostic significance of MMP-7 expression in CRC patients.
authors: Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Bethune Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China.
authors: Da-wei
authors: DW
authors: Sun
authors: Department of Chemotherapy, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
authors: Ying-yi
authors: YY
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Medicine, The First Bethune Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China.
authors: Yue
authors: Y
authors: Qi
authors: Department of Breast Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
authors: Xing-tong
authors: XT
authors: Zhou
authors: Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Bethune Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China. Electronic address: lvguoyue@sina.com.
authors: Guo-yue
authors: GY
authors: Lv
mesh_terms: D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D020783:Matrix Metalloproteinase 7 / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D020783:Matrix Metalloproteinase 7
keywords: Colorectal cancer; Matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7); Meta-analysis; Prognosis