Expression and significance of MMP-2 and TIMP-2 in colorectal carcinoma

Objective To study the expression of matrix metalloproteinases-2(MMP-2) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2(TIMP-2) in colorectal cancer tissues and the relation to the aggregated degree,metastasis and prognosis.Methods MMP-2 and TIMP-2 expressions were examined by S-P immunohistochemical method in 58 cases of colorectal cancer and 20 controls of the colorectal adenoma.Results The expression rate of MMP-2 was 35% in colorectal adenoma and 74.1% in colorectal cancer;the later had a close correlation with invasion depth,Dukes stages,metastasis of lymph node and prognosis(P0.05).No significant difference in expression of TIMP-2 between colorectal adenoma and colorectal cancer(P0.05),but there was significant relationship among TIMP-2 expression and histological type cellular differentiation and metastasis of lymph node,whereas its expression has no significant effect on prognosis(P0.05).There was significant negative correlation between the expressions of MMP-2 and TIMP-2 in colorectal cancer(r=-0.3684,P0.05).Conclusions The expressions of MMP-2 and TIMP-2 all have significant effects on the tumor biological behavior in colorectal cancer.To detect the expressions of MMP-2 and TIMP-2 may be helpful for judging tumor biological behavior and prognosis in colorectal carcinoma.