| Research Abstract |
In general, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are involved in growth and invasion of cancer. In this study, we examined the clinical significance of serum levels of MMP-1, proMMP-1, active MMP-2, proMMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-7, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and found that these serum levels in HCC patients were somewhat higher than in cirrhotic patients, and were slightly related with clinical findings such as tumor size, tumor morphology, histological differentiation, and portal thrombosis. Among these tests, TIMP-1 was the most closely related marker with the clinical findings of HCC. In addition, we compared the expression of MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-7, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 between HCC tissues and non-tumor tissues, and found that the immunohistochemical stain intensity in HCC tissues were similar to that in non-tumor tissues, suggesting that HCC cells are not the major producing cells of MMPs and TIMPs.
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