Elevated expression levels of androgen receptors and matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 in 30 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma compared with adjacent tissues as predictors of cancer invasion and staging

The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential roles of the androgen receptor (AR) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and whether their expression could be used as a predictor of the invasion and stage of cancer. The expression levels of AR, MMP-2 and MMP-9 in HCC tissues and tissues adjacent to the tumor were measured by immunohistochemical staining assay. The expression rates of AR, MMP-2 and MMP-9 in the HCC tissue were 76.67, 73.33 and 76.67%, respectively, all of which were significantly higher than those in the tissues adjacent to the tumor. The expression of these proteins represents the local invasion and stage. AR, MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression levels in HCC tissues have the potential to be employed as predictors of the progression of local cancer invasion and the tumor stage.