Association between Cyclooxygenase-2 and Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 Expression in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Results: The COX-2 expression was positive in 68.1% and that of the MMP-2 was positive in 45.6%. The positive expression rate of MMP-2 (52.5%) in the positive COX-2 group was higher than that in the negative COX-2 group (30.8%, P = 0.004). Furthermore, the MMP-2 expression was associated with lymph node involvement, the tumor stage and the histological type. The patients with a positive MMP-2 expression showed a reduced survival (P = 0.048). Conclusions: The COX-2 expression is associated with the MMP-2 expression in NSCLC patients: the latter may also be associated with tumor progression and reduced survival in NSCLC patients.