Pre-treatment serum and plasma levels of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP-1) in gastric cancer patients

Background: The invasion and metastases of gastric cancer (GC) depends on the activities of matrix metal- loproteinases and tissue inhibitors of metalloprotein- ases. It was suggested that the concentration of plasma matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is better than the concentration of serum MMP-9 for prediction of evolution of GC. The aim of the present study was to compare the clinical usefulness of plasma and serum tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP- 1) in the diagnosis and prognosis of GC. Methods: Plasma and serum concentrations of TIMP-1, MMP-9 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were assayed in 73 patients with GC and 61 healthy con- trols. The diagnostic criteria and prognostic value for the measurands were defined. Results: Plasma and serum TIMP-1, MMP-9 and CEA were significantly higher in GC patients compared with healthy controls. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) (0.961), diagnostic sensitivity (89%) and accu- racy (91%) of plasma TIMP-1 were higher than those for MMP-9 and CEA. An increased pre-treatment con- centration of plasma TIMP-1 was a significant inde- pendent prognostic factor for the survival of patients with GC. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the plasma TIMP-1 is a better biomarker than the serum TIMP-1 and might be useful for the diagnosis of GC and prog- nosis of patient survival. Clin Chem Lab Med 2009;47:1133-9.