Expression and clinical significance of bFGF and MMP9 in nasopharyn-geal carcinoma / 中国病理生理杂志

ABSTRACT

AIM:To detect the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and matrix metalloprotei-nase 9 (MMP9) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its correlation with clinicopathological features and prognosis of the patients.METHODS:The expression of bFGF and MMP9 was detected by the method of SP immunohistochemical staining in biopsy tissues of NPC patients.The relationship between the expression and the clinical significance was analyzed as well.RESULTS:In 289 cases of NPC patients, the positive rates of bFGF and MMP9 were 71.3% and 61.6%, respectively.Correlation analysis demonstrated that the expression rates of bFGF and MMP9 were both positively associated with N stage and clinical stage in NPC patients.The high expression rates of both bFGF and MMP9 were associated with poor overall survival and progression-free survival of NPC patients.Furthermore, the positive rate of bFGF was positively correlated with that of MMP9, and over-expression of both bFGF and MMP9 was correlated with the poorest survival outcomes in NPC patients.CONCLUSION:bFGF and MMP9 are over-expressed in NPC tissues and significantly associated with NPC recurrence and poor outcome.The combined interpretation of bFGF and MMP9 expression levels leads to refinement of the risks for the NPC patients and could be chosen as the prognostic biomarkers.