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Immunoexpression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in malignant ovarian epithelial tumours
Hossam Kamel1, Ibrahim Abdelazim1, Sherif M Habib1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Objectives:
This study was designed to evaluate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in malignant ovarian epithelial tumours and to detect the relation between the degree of MMP-2 expression and the histological grade and surgical stage of the studied cases.
Methods:
This study was conducted in Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital in Cairo, Egypt, between March 2004 and December 2005. Thirty patients with malignant ovarian epithelial tumours diagnosed after histopathological examination of the specimens were included in this study. The pathological specimens were additionally stained by the immunoperoxidase technique for MMP-2 using a monoclonal antibody against activated MMP-2. The staining intensity of MMP-2 was correlated with the clinical and pathological parameters of the studied cases, including patient's age, surgical stage, histological grade, omental metastasis, and lymph node metastasis.
Results:
Four of the 30 cases (13.3%) were entirely negative for MMP-2, 14 (46.7%) showed weak staining for MMP-2, five (16.7%) showed moderate staining, and seven cases (23.3%) showed intense staining. The results were compared with the clinical and pathological parameters, including patient's age, tumour stage, and histological grade. The MMP-2 expression was found to be significantly correlated with the histological grade (r = 0.52, P < 0.05) and with the surgical stage (r = 0.72, P < 0.001) of the studied tumours, but not with the age of the patients. Patients with advanced ovarian tumours, ascites, omental metastasis, distant metastasis, or uterine metastasis had a significantly higher incidence of MMP-2 expression (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in MMP-2 expression between patients when compared in terms of lymph node metastasis or the presence of bilateral tumours.
Conclusion:
MMP-2 is a marker of proliferation, invasiveness, and metastasis. In this study, there was a direct correlation between the degree of expression of MMP-2 and histologically undifferentiated or advanced stages of ovarian epithelial tumours.
