Plasma MMP-1 Expression as a Prognostic Factor in Colon Cancer

Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are involved in the local and distant invasiveness of colorectal cancer. This study investigates the prognostic value of circulating matrix metalloproteinase levels in patients with colon cancer. Methods: A cohort of 152 patients was followed for more than 10 years. The correlation of plasma levels of MMP-1,-2,-7,-8, and-9 and survival was investigated. Results: A high level of MMP-1 in circulating plasma was associated with a poorer prognosis in colon cancer (HR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.9) in multivariate analysis regarding 5-year cancer specific survival. This was further seen in regard of 10-year cancer-specific survival. Conclusions: Measurement of plasma MMP-1 concentration in patients planned for radical colon cancer surgery might be of importance when discussing prognosis and selection of patients for oncological treatment and postsurgery surveillance. (c) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )

Automated summary

The study showed that a high level of MMP-1 in circulating plasma was associated with a poorer prognosis in colon cancer, which may be important for discussing prognosis and selecting patients for treatment and surveillance.