Expression and clinical significance of matrix metalloproteinase-14 and c-myc in primary hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-14 (MMP-14) and c-myc gene in primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and their clinical significance. Methods A total of 80 patients with HCC admitted to the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from June 2015 to December 2016 were randomly selected and confirmed by histopathology. Another 20 patients (normal liver tissue) were selected for traumatic biopsy. Immunohistochemical staining (SP) was used to detect the expression of MMP-14 and c-myc in 80 cases of HCC, 80 cases of HCC and 20 cases of normal liver. The relationship between MMP-14 and c-myc expression and HCC metastasis and staging was analyzed in cancer tissues. The correlation between MMP-14 and c-myc expression was analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. Results The positive rates of c-myc and MMP-14 expression in HCC tissues were 88.75% and 83.75%, respectively, which were higher than 5.00%, 5.00% of normal liver tissues and 23.75% and 28.75% of adjacent tissues (P=0.000, 0.024, 0.000, 0.012). The positive rate of MMP-14 and c-myc expression in HCC tissues was lower than that in patients with lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The positive rates of MMP-14 and c-myc expression in HCC tissues with pathological stage I-II were lower than those in stage III-IV (P=0.009, 0.018). There was a positive correlation between the expressions of MMP-14 and HIF-1a (r=0.713, P=0.024). Conclusions The occurrence and development of HCC are related to the abnormal expression of MMP-14 and c-myc. MMP-14 and c-myc are involved in the formation, development, invasion and metastasis of tumors, and can be used as clinical reference indicators to judge the biological behavior of HCC. Key words: Matrix metalloproteinase-14; Liver tissue; Primary hepatocellular carcinoma