Expression and significance of matrix metalloproteinase-7 in transitional cell carcinoma of bladder

Objective To evaluate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-7(MMP-7) in transitional cell carcinoma of bladder(TCCB) and its significance.Methods Immunohisto-chemistry was used to detect the expression of MMP-7 in 60 cases of TCCB[Pathological grades: grade Ⅰin 25 cases,grade Ⅱ in 15,grade Ⅲ in 20;Clinical stages: superficial(≤pT_1) TCCB in 29 cases,invasive(≥pT_2) in 31 ]and 8 subjects with normal bladder tissues.χ~2 test was used to assess the relationship between expression of MMP-7 and tumor grade and stage.Results The expression of MMP-7 was negative in all normal bladder tissues but high in TCCB.Of the 60 cases,40(66.7%) were positive and 20 were negative for MMP-7.13 cases of grade Ⅰ,10 of grade Ⅱ and 17 of grade Ⅲ were positive for MMP-7.Positive staining was seen in 18 of the superficial and 22 of the invasive cancer cases.MMP-7 positivity was correlated with high histogical grade,but no significant difference was observed!between superficial TCCB and invasive TCCB.Conclusions The positive expression of MMP-7 correlated with the malignant degree of TCCB.MMP-7 could be useful indicator for the assessment of prognosis of TCCB.