Research Progress of Promoting Function of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Gastric Cancer via Regulating Microenvironment

Objective To summarize the role of matrix metalloproteinases(MMPs) in occurrence and development of gastric cancer.Methods Domestic and international publications online involving MMPs of gastric cancer in recent years were collected and reviewed.Results The occurrence and development of gastric cancer was a multi-step and multi-factorial complicated progress,whose etiology and pathogenesis were still unclarified.MMPs were a class of proteolytic enzymes,which played an important role in the proliferation,metastasis,angiogenesis of gastric cancer and apoptosis of tumor cells and their surrounding normal cells by regulating the microenvironment of the growth of tumor.Conclusion MMPs promote the evolution of gastric cancer in variable ways,the mechanisms of which should be comprehended to provide a theoretical basis for the future treatment of gastric cancer.