Expression of Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 in the Cervical Lymph NodeMetastasis of the Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma-A Clinicopathologic Study- / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Death as a result of cancer is primarily due to regional and/or systemic metastasis. The first essential step of metastasis is active migration of cancer cells from their tissue organ. It is associated with the degradation of extracellular matrix macromolecule, including the basement membrane component of vessels and interstitial stroma. Matrix metalloproteinase-2, one of many matrix degrading enzymes, has been identified as a basement membrane-degrading enzyme and is thought to play an important role in the malignant behavior of cancer. But only a little is known about clinicopathologic features of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in the relation to the production of MMP-2. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between MMP-2 expression in the cancer cell membrane and ervical lymph node metastasis in the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma using immunohistochemistry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tissues were obtained from 55 patients with head and neck cancer who underwent the surgery of primary tumor resection and radical neck dissection. And paraffin embedded 5nm thin sections were immunohistochemically stained for MMP-2. RESULTS: 1) Immunoreactivity for MMP-2 was detected primarily in the cancer cell nests, whereas it was either not observed or observed infrequently and only faintly in the normal epithelium. 2) Metastasis to a lymph node was more frequently observed with the MMP-2 production in the head and neck cancer than that with no expression of MMP-2 (p<0.01). 3)There was no significant correlation between the expression of MMP-2 and the patient's age, tumor size, primary tumor site, clinical tumor stage (TNM classification), and histologic grading. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that intensity of MMP-2 expression in the cancer nests may be a biochemical parameter to predict a metastatic potential, prognosis, and aggressiveness of the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.