ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the expression of COX-2,MMP-2 and TIMP-2 ,the pathological fea-tures ,and their relationship in breast cancer. Methods The expressions of COX-2 ,MMP-2 and TIMP-2 were deter-mined by S-P immunohistochemical method on tissue chips,which containing 127 cases of breast carcinoma. Results The positive rates of COX-2,MMP-2 and TIMP-2 protein were 81.1 (103/127)% ,96.9(123/127)% and 60.6 (77/127) % respectively;The expression of COX-2 was positively related to auxiliary lymph node metastasis and TNM staging (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively), and inversely related to PR expression (P<0.05). Further-more,the expression of COX-2 was positively correlated with MMP-2 (r=0. 290 ,P<0.01). Conclusions The ex-pression of COX-2 might be closely related to the invasion and metastasis of breast cancer and has a close relation-ship with MMP-2. The levels of MMP-2 might be partly regulated by COX-2.