Prognostic significance of MMP-2 expression DNA content with invasion and metastasis of gastric carcinoma

Objective To find some useful tumor-biological factors with invasion and metastasis of gastric carcinoma.Methods The expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2) was observed in 83 cases with gastric cancer, 25 samples of normal stomach tissue by using streptavidin-peroxidase immunohistocytochemical analysis,and the DNA content was quantitatively determined on the DNA index which was calculated by computer automatically with Feulgen staining.Results All of normal stomach tissues did not express MMP-2 but abundantly expressed in the gastric cancer group which was 78.3%. The related factors with MMP-2 expression were the differentiation degree,lymphaden metastasis,deep invaded,diffuse growth and TNM stage of gastric cancer cell. The non-related factor with MMP-2 expression was the size of gastric cancer. The DNA index in gastric cancer samples was higher than that in normal stomach tissue (1.47±0.23 vs 0.97±0.15 ,P 0.01). The related factors with DNA index were the differentiation degree,lymphaden metastasis,diffuse growth and deep invaded of gastric cancer. The non-related factors with DNA index were the TNM stage and the size of gastric cancer.Conclusions The expression of MMP-2 and the DNA content are significantly related with the invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cell. The changes of the two factors are the important biologic character of gastric cancer cell and can be helpful for the judgment of the gastric cancer metastasis and the patient′s prognosis.