Expression and significance of MMP-7 in Esophageal Carcinoma

Objective To investigate the relationship between the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-7) and biologic behavior of esophageal carcinoma.Methods Immunohistochemical SABC method was used to detect the expression of MMP-7 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Results The normal esophageal squamous epithelium showed MMP-7 negative expression.MMP-7 was expressed mainly in cytoplasm and membrane,not in stromal cells, and the rate of positive expression is 43.3%(26/60) .The expression of MMP-7 was associated with lymph node metastasis(P=0.021),clinical stage(P=0.006),venous invasion(P=0.003)and infiltration depth(P=0.006) ,but was not associated with sexuality ,age, pathological classification and histological grade(P0.05).Conclusion Our finding suggested that MMP-7 expression might play an important role in the progression of esophageal carcinoma and serve as an independent factor of prognosis.Routine detection of MMP-7 expression might be useful for the prediction of treatment and prognosis of esophageal carcinoma.