Cases Showed Lymph Node Metastasis Research Articles

Expression of MMPS, MT‐MMP, and TIMPs in squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity: Correlations with tumor invasion and metastasis

Background Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that degrade the extracellular matrices (ECMs) have been thought to play an important role in both the invasion and metastasis of tumors. However, the detailed role of MMPs and TIMPs (tissue inhibitors of MMP) on the biological behavior of tumor cells has yet to be elucidated in vivo. The aim of the present study was thus to determine whether expression of MMPs on tumor cells is associated with such clinicopathological features as the invasive and metastatic potential. Materials and Methods This study included 96 cases of primary oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), of which 38 cases showed lymph node metastases. The relationship between the expression of MMPs and the staining of ECMs, the mode of tumor invasion, nodal involvement, and expression of TIMPs was immunohistochemically examined. Results First of all, a decrease in the staining of ECMs was observed in cases with an increased expression of MMP-1, -2, and -9. The association between the expression of MMPs and the loss of ECMs was thus found to be statistically significant. Secondly, in both invasive and metastatic cases, a marked expression of MMP-1, -2, -3, -9 and MT1-MMP was frequently observed. The association of the expression of MMPs both with the mode of tumor invasion and nodal involvement was thus found to be statistically significant. Thirdly, TIMP-2 was thus found not to significantly decrease in metastatic cases, while TIMP-1 expression significantly increased in metastatic cases. Conclusion These results suggest that tumor progression is dependent on the ability of tumor cells to degrade ECMs, while the metastasis of tumors is regulated by many types of MMPs, and the overproduction of MMPs therefore appears to be more important for metastasis than the production of TIMPs in vivo. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head and Neck 21: 627–638, 1999.

Lymph node metastases in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the submaxillary gland.

The incidence of neck metastases in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck is considered low and reported incidence range from 0 to 18%. If tumors of the submaxillary gland are considered separately, the incidence of neck metastases reported ranges from 0 to 100%, with a pooled incidence of 34%, significantly higher (P less than 0.001) than that reported for the parotid gland, which ranges from 0 to 21% with a pooled incidence of 10%. It may be suggested that the high incidence of neck metastases in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the submaxillary gland is due, in some cases, to direct extention of the tumor from the gland to the adjacent nodes or from infiltrated surrounding soft tissues rather than by a classic embolic metastasis. In our series of 10 cases, 4 cases showed lymph node metastases. In 3 of these, slides of the radical neck dissection were available for review and showed direct extension of the tumor from surrounding involved soft tissues, although the possibility of embolic metastasis could not be excluded. In the 3 patients with neck metastases at the time of initial diagnosis, distant metastases also developed early in the course of the disease.