The Korean Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery  2005;38(1):38-43

Activity of Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 and its Significance after Resection of Stage I Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Sang Hui KIM 1 ; Young Sook HONG ; Jinseon LEE ; Dae Soon SON ; Yu Sung LIM ; In Seung SONG ; Hye Sook LEE ; Do Hun KIM ; Jhingook KIM ; Yong Soo CHOI

Affiliations

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Keywords

Lung neoplasms; Cell biology; Neoplasm proteins; Neoplasm outcomes

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) is a class of proteolytic enzymes that digest collagen type IV and other components of the basement membrane. It plays a key role in the local invasion and the formation of distant metastases by various malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of MMP-2 and its significance as a prognostic marker in resected stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MATERIAL AND METHOD: In this study we obtained fresh-frozen samples of tumor and non-tumor tissues from 34 patients with stage I NSCLC who underwent resection without preoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy. After the extraction of total protein from tissue samples, MMP-2 activities were assessed by gelatin-substrate-zymography. The activities were divided into the higher or lower groups. RESULT: The MMP-2 activities were higher in tumor tissues than in non-tumor tissues. The MMP-2 activity of non-tumor tissues in recurrent group was higher than in non-recurrent group (p<0.01). Also the patients with higher MMP-2 activity of non-tumor tissues showed poor 5 year survival (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: This result indicates that the higher level of MMP-2 activity in the non-tumor tissue is associated with the recurrence and survival after the resection of stage I NSCLC. Therefore, MMP-2 activity in the non-tumor tissue could be used as a potential prognostic marker for the resected stage I-NSCLC.