Expressions of MMP-2 and VEGF in the tissues of breast cancer and its clinical significance

Objective:To study expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and matrix metal loproteinase-2(MMP-2) in the breast cancer and evaluate its significance to clinicopathology of this tumor invasion and metastasis.Methods:The immunohistochemical staining method(two-step method) was used to evaluate the expression of VEGF and MMP-2 in 64 cases of breast cancer and 16 cases of benign breast diseases and its correlations to clinicopathologic features were analyzed.Results:(1) The positive incidence of VEGF and MMP-2 expressions in 64 cases of breast cancer were 78.10%(50/64) and 62.50%(40/64) respectively,which was improved compared with the expressions in benign breast diseases were 37.50%(6/16) and 31.30%(5/16)(P0.05).(2) The expressions of VEGF and MMP-2 were positively correlated to axillary lymph node metastasis and pathological stage,and so did between MMP-2 and VEGF expression.Conclusions:VEGF and MMP-2 were associated in breast cancer,and could serve as an important index in the aspect of invasiveness and metastasis in breast cancer.