Background. Degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM), an essential step in tumour invasion and metastasis, is mainly dependent on the activities of both matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). This study aimed to explore whether expression of MMP-7 and TIMP-1 alone and in combination can be used as a prognostic marker for gastric cancer (GC). Method. A total of 285 patients who had undergone tumourectomy for GC were included. Gastric tumour tissues were stained immunohistochemically to evaluate expression of MMP-7 and TIMP-1. Results. Expression of MMP-7 was associated with tumour N stage and neural invasion. Multivariate Cox regression analysis suggested that expression of MMP-7 or TIMP-1 alone cannot serve as an indicator of patient prognosis; however, coexpression of MMP-7 and TIMP-1 was found to be an independent predictive factor of overall survival in patients with GC (, 95% CI: 1.08-2.80). The results of stratified analysis also showed that the predictive value of MMP-7 and TIMP-1 coexpression was stronger in patients with N3 stage disease and not receiving chemotherapy. Conclusions. In conclusion, coexpression of MMP-7 and its inhibitor TIMP-1 in gastric tumour tissues is a potential prognostic marker for GC. Greater knowledge of protein expression will lead to new paradigms and possible improvements in therapeutics.

中文翻译：

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基质金属蛋白酶 7 和金属蛋白酶 1 组织抑制剂的共表达作为胃癌的预后生物标志物

背景。细胞外基质 (ECM) 的降解是肿瘤侵袭和转移的重要步骤，主要取决于基质金属蛋白酶 (MMP) 和金属蛋白酶组织抑制剂 (TIMP) 的活性。本研究旨在探讨 MMP-7 和 TIMP-1 单独和联合表达是否可用作胃癌 (GC) 的预后标志物。方法。共纳入 285 名因 GC 接受肿瘤切除术的患者。对胃肿瘤组织进行免疫组织化学染色以评估 MMP-7 和 TIMP-1 的表达。结果。MMP-7的表达与肿瘤N分期和神经浸润有关。多变量 Cox 回归分析表明，仅 MMP-7 或 TIMP-1 的表达不能作为患者预后的指标；然而，发现 MMP-7 和 TIMP-1 的共表达是 GC 患者总生存期的独立预测因素。, 95% CI: 1.08-2.80)。分层分析的结果还显示，MMP-7和TIMP-1共表达的预测价值在N3期疾病且未接受化疗的患者中更强。结论。总之，胃肿瘤组织中 MMP-7 及其抑制剂 TIMP-1 的共表达是 GC 的潜在预后标志物。对蛋白质表达的更多了解将导致新的范例和可能的治疗改进。