Department of Internal Medicine and Hyperbaric Oxygen, Second Hospital of Longyan City, Longyan, Fujian, China.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Affiliated Mindong Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Ningde, Fujian, China.
Arch Med Res. 2015 Apr;46(3):186-92. doi: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2015.03.006. Epub 2015 Mar 28.
Matrix metalloproteinase 14 (MMP14) has been identified to play a significant role in several types of cancers, but little is known about the significance of MMP14 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. The aim of this study was to explore the association of MMP14 expression with clinicopathologic features and prognosis in NPC.
MMP14 mRNA and protein expressions were examined in NPC and nasopharyngeal tissues through real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. Meanwhile, the relationship of MMP14 expression levels with clinical features and prognosis of NPC patients was analyzed.
MMP14 mRNA expression was markedly higher in NPC tissues than in nasopharyngeal epithelium tissues (p = 0.002). Using immunohistochemistry, staining for MMP14 protein was found in the normal nasopharyngeal epithelial cells and malignant epithelial cells, but increased expression of MMP14 was observed in NPC samples compared with normal nasopharyngeal epithelium samples (p = 0.027). In addition, high levels of MMP14 protein were positively correlated with the status of clinical stage (p = 0.009), N classification (p = 0.006), and distant metastasis (p = 0.005) of NPC patients. Patients with higher MMP14 expression had a significantly shorter overall survival time than did patients with low MMP14 expression. Multivariate analysis indicated that the level of MMP14 expression was an independent prognostic indicator (p < 0.001) for the survival of patients with NPC.
MMP14 overexpression is a potentially unfavorable prognostic factor for NPC patients.
基质金属蛋白酶 14（MMP14）已被确定在多种癌症中发挥重要作用，但关于 MMP14 在鼻咽癌（NPC）患者中的意义知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨 MMP14 表达与 NPC 临床病理特征和预后的关系。
通过实时 PCR 和免疫组织化学检测 NPC 和鼻咽组织中的 MMP14 mRNA 和蛋白表达。同时，分析 MMP14 表达水平与 NPC 患者临床特征和预后的关系。
MMP14 mRNA 在 NPC 组织中的表达明显高于鼻咽上皮组织（p = 0.002）。免疫组织化学染色显示，MMP14 蛋白在正常鼻咽上皮细胞和恶性上皮细胞中均有表达，但在 NPC 样本中表达增加（p = 0.027）。此外，高水平的 MMP14 蛋白与 NPC 患者的临床分期（p = 0.009）、N 分类（p = 0.006）和远处转移（p = 0.005）状态呈正相关。MMP14 表达较高的患者总生存时间明显短于 MMP14 表达较低的患者。多因素分析表明，MMP14 表达水平是 NPC 患者生存的独立预后指标（p < 0.001）。
MMP14 过表达是 NPC 患者预后不良的潜在因素。
