Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 Potential Biomarker for Detection and Prognostic Assessment of Patients with ESCCs

Matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1) is a zinc-dependent endopeptidase that belongs to superfamily of MMPs .MMP1 gene expression was increased in esophageal cancer and associated with increasing tumor invasion and decreased survival rate. The expression of MMP-1 is increased ip tumor tissue, which leads to elevate the levels of circulating enzyme in serum. Accordingly, MMP-1 can introduce as a marker for early detection of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Our aim in this study was to evaluate the blood marker MMP-1 and its role in the diagnosis and prediction of disease progression and patient survival time of ESCC patients. The MMP-1 serum levels was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on 66 ESCC patients prior of any treatment (Endo-SCC-In-sito- 6-, Endo-SCC-Invasive-28-, Esophagectomy included-32 -patients) and S4 healthy controls. MMP-1 serum levels were compared to clinicopathological data of patients through statistical analyses. The serum level of MMP-1 in patients showed no significantly higher in compared with the control group. No significant correlations were observed between MMP-1 levels and tumor differentiation grade, progression stage, depth of tumor invasion, involvement of lymph nodes, survival time, and location. Previous studies demonstrated increased levels of MMP-1 in gastrointestinal tract cancers, whereas our results did not show a statistically significant correlations. Many factors are involved in this result, including differences between the patients in our country compared with the rest of the world.