Expression of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer CD147 and MMP-9 in hepatocellular carcinoma and its clinical significance

Objective:To study the expression of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase(MMP-9) inducer CD147 and MMP-9 protein in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) and explore their correlation with invasion,metastasis,and prognosis of HCC.Methods:SP immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the expression of CD147 and MMP-9 in 83 HCC tissues and 15 normal liver tissues.Results:The positive rate was 73.5% for MMP-9 and 68.7% for CD147,significantly higher than normal tissues(MMP-9: 6.7%;CD147: 0%,P0.05).Expressions of CD147 and MMP-9 were positively correlated with the tumor size,pTNM stages,differentiation degree,the portal vein cancer embolism,and postoperative recurrence(P0.05),but not with the patient's age,gender,the serum level of alpha-fetal protein(AFP),and the Child-Pugh grades.Patients with positive expression of CD147 and MMP-9 had shorter survival time than those with negative expression of CD147 and MMP-9.Expression of CD147 was positively related with expression of MMP-9 in HCC tissues.Conclusion:CD147 and MMP-9 had positive correlation with tumor size,pTNM stages,differentiation degree,portal vein cancer embolism,and postoperative recurrence.Detection of the expression of CD147 and MMP-9 may be helpful to make a comprehensive prediction of the prognosis of HCC.