Background: Identifying the factors which affect the invasion and metastasis process takes a vital role in the treatment of cancer. This is the first study on the relationship between the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP \u2013 9), invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in Vietnam. Objectives: To evaluate the significance of matrix metalloproteinase \u2013 9 in predicting the metastasis potential of NPC. Subject and Method: The expression of MMP \u2013 9 was studied by immunohistochemical analysis in 33 nasopharyngeal carcinoma sections and the associations of MMP-9 with lymph nodes metastasis and clinical features. Results: Positive immunostaining for MMP-9 was observed in 94.94% of the NPCs, 39.4% of the cases being extensively positive (+++). The expression of MMP-9 correlated significantly with cervical lymph nodes metastasis (p<0.05). 5/16 cases (31.25% of the cases) without cervical lymph nodes metastasis expressed MMP-9 with 2+ or 3+ level, non-significant of MMP-9 expression with T classification and clinical stage. Conclusions: The expression of MMP-9 often goes along with lymph nodes metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
MMP-9 ; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma