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14564 Background: Signet ring cell colorectal carcinoma ( SRCC) pure is an infrequent and highly malignant variant of colorectal cancer, while this histological component is present in 30% of all colorectal carcinomas. In our previous studies we compared the E- Cadherin, β- Catenin, Fibronectin, Ki 67 and Thymidylate Synthase (TS) expression of SRCC, the intestinal type of colorectal carcinoma (ICRC) to try to explain the pathogenesis, the aggressiveness and the low 5 Fluorouracil (5FU) responsiveness of these tumours. We found that all SRCCs had very low levels of all markers and were in the post- mitotic phase of the cell cycle. To understand their high metastatic capability we assessed the SRCC expression of Matrix Metallo Proteinase-1 (MMP1), a proteolytic enzyme, suspected to play an important role in the progression of various cancer and compared it to the ICRC one. Methods: We tested MMP1 expression immunohistochemically on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples of 32 SRCC and 70 ICRC. Differences in the distribution of the study variables, and associations between variables were assessed by means of the ?2 test. Results: SRCC showed a high expression of MMP1 over all in the invasion front of the tumour and in the neoplastic embolus rather then the ICRC (p No significant financial relationships to disclose.