The role of MMP-2 and MMP-9 as prognostic markers in the early stages of tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Background Tongue cancer is the most common intra-oral malignancy with a high rate of morbidity and mortality owing to its increased propensity for tumor invasion and metastasis. These processes require a controlled degradation of the extracellular matrix. Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) are known to be important regulators of matrix lysis and play a significant role in the metastasis of malignancies. Aim and objectives To study the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in the early stages of tongue squamous cell carcinoma and find the association between their expression and local recurrence, metastasis, and survival rates of the subjects. Materials and methods Fifty-nine tumor biopsy samples of tongue squamous cell carcinoma in T1N0M0 and T2N0M0 stages were immunostained with MMP-2 and MMP-9 antibodies. The immunohistochemical expression was compared with the patient characteristics and outcome. Results Cytoplasmic expression of MMP-2 correlated with that of MMP-9 ( r = 0.716, P < 0.001). Greater expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 was observed in patients who subsequently developed local recurrence ( P = 0.044 and P < 0.001, respectively), regional and/or distant metastasis ( P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively) of the tumor. Further, a higher expression of these biomarkers was associated with shorter survival. MMP-9 was found to have better specificity for local recurrence, metastasis and survival. Conclusion Our results showed that these biomarkers may serve as indicators of a patient's risk potential for poor prognosis and presage the need for more aggressive treatment measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]