Correlation Between MMP-7 and bFGF Expressions in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Tissue and Clinicopathologic Features

Abstract

The present study intends to investigate the correlation between clinicopathologic features of non-small cell lung cancer and matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and to investigate the roles of MMP-7 and bFGF in detecting the course of disease of non-small cell lung cancer. Ninety cases of paraffin-embedded tissue samples from patient with primary non-small cell lung cancer and fifty cases of lung tissue samples from normal subjects were included in the present study. Immunohistochemical S–P method was used to detect proteins MMP-7 and bFGF. (1) The positive rate of MMP-7 protein was 14 % in normal lung tissue section and 68.89 % in non-small cell lung cancer tissue section, and the difference was statistically significant (χ ² = 38.774, P = 0.000 < 0.05). There were 43 cases (43/56) with positive expression in patients with squamous cell carcinoma and 22 cases (22/34) with positive expression in patients with adenocarcinoma, and the difference was not statistically significant (χ ² = 1.539, P = 0.215 > 0.05). There were 14 cases (14/51) with positive expression in patients with moderate- and well-differentiated lung carcinoma and 36 cases (36/39) with positive expression in patients with poor-differentiated lung carcinoma, and the difference was statistically significant (χ ² = 35.068, P = 0.000 < 0.05). There were 37 cases (37/42) with positive expression in patients with lymphatic metastasis and 26 cases (26/48) with positive expression in patients without lymphatic metastasis, and the difference was statistically significant (χ ² = 12.279, P = 0.000 < 0.05). (2) The mean intratumoral microvessel density (iMVD) was 46.2 ± 6.77 in the field of lung cancer tissue at high magnification under MMP-7-positive condition and 30.8 ± 7.54 in the field of lung cancer tissue at high magnification under MMP-7-negative condition, and the difference was statistically significant (t = 9.641, P = 0.000 < 0.05). (3) The positive rate of bFGF was 12 % in normal tissue section and 63.3 % in non-small cell lung cancer tissue section, and the difference was statistically significant (χ ² = 34.222, P = 0.000 < 0.05). There were 41 cases (41/56) with positive expression in patients with squamous cell carcinoma and 20 cases (20/34) with positive expression in patients with adenocarcinoma, and the difference was not statistically significant (χ² = 2.006, P = 0.157 > 0.05). There were 29 cases (29/51) with positive expression in patients with moderate- and well-differentiated lung carcinoma and 35 cases (35/39) with positive expression in patients with poor-differentiated lung carcinoma, and the difference was statistically significant (χ ² = 10.085, P = 0.001 < 0.05). There were 37 cases (37/42) with positive expression in patients with lymphatic metastasis and 25 cases (25/48) with positive expression in patients without lymphatic metastasis, and the difference was statistically significant (χ ² = 13.554, P = 0.001 < 0.05). (4) The (iMVD) was 45.8 ± 7.16 in the field at high magnification under bFGF-positive condition and 31.2 ± 6.46 in the field at high magnification under bFGF-negative condition, and the difference was statistically significant (t = 9.654, P = 0.001 < 0.05). (5) A correlation was demonstrated between MMP-7 and bFGF in non-small cell lung cancer (r = 0.353, P = 0.000 < 0.05). Both MMP-7 and bFGF are participated in the progression of non-small cell lung cancer and exert a synergistic effect during physiological processes including pathogenesis, invasion, and metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer. Therefore, a combined detection of MMP-7 and bFGF for non-small cell lung cancer contributes to predict the progression and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer, with significant clinical value.