口腔癌とmatrix metalloproteinases : II: 口腔扁平上皮癌におけるmatrix metalloproteinases 2および3の発現とリンパ節転移に関する臨床病理学的検討

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To investigate whether matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role on the malignant potential of oral carcinoma, the expression of proMMP-2 and 3 in 47 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma was analized by immunohistochemical staining of tissue specimens using monospecific antisera against human proMMP-2 and MMP-3. In 21 (77.8%) of 27 patients with lymph node involvement, the increased-production of pro-MMP-2 and 3 was observed, and proMMP-2 or 3 alone was observed in 4 patients (14.8%). On the other hand, the production of proMMP-2 and 3 in tissue was detected only in 4 (20%), and proMMP-2 or 3 alone in 7 (35%) of 20 patients, who had no lymph node metastasis. In the tissue specimens, proMMP-2 and 3 was expressed particularly in the diffuse invasive mode and in the part of advancing front of cancer. Since MMP-2 and 3 can degrade the extracellular matrix macromolecules including basement membrane components, these results indicate that analysis of proMMP-2 and 3 expression in tissue is useful for evaluation of the metastatic potential in oral squamous cell carcinoma.