Gelatinase activity of matrix metalloproteinases during first-line chemotherapy in lung adenocarcinoma patients: an initial approach.

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to determine if gelatinase activity of plasma matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) can be used as a method to assess chemotherapy response and cancer progression in primary lung adenocarcinoma patients.

METHODS

A group of 28 patients was divided according to risk factor as follows: lung cancer associated with wood smoke exposure (LCW), lung cancer in tobacco smokers (LCT), and patients with no association to a known risk factor (LCN). Plasma gelatinase activity was measured by zymography and radiolabeled gelatin degradation.

RESULTS

The chemotherapy response was better in the LCW group (25%) compared with the LCT (7.1%) patients (P = 0.039). MMP gelatinase activity was increased in all lung cancer subjects. Patients with progression of the disease had a significant increase in gelatinase activity compared with subjects, with a response to treatment (330.3 ± 44.4 and 64.9 ± 8.5 μg of degraded gelatin/mg of incubated plasma protein, respectively, P = 2.972 × 10(-5)). Zymography assay revealed that the increase in gelatinase activity corresponded mainly to MMP-2.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with progression of lung adenocarcinoma, mainly from the LCT group, had an increase in gelatinase activity compared with subjects that responded to chemotherapy. Therefore, plasma gelatinase activity, particularly MMP-2 enzymatic activity, could be used as a way to assess lung adenocarcinoma progression as well as an indicator for the use of MMP-2 inhibitors.