摘要
Objective: To investigate the expressions of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in cervical carcinoma and their clinical significance. Methods: Immunohistochemistry SP method was used to detect the expres- sions of COX-2 and MMP-9 in 72 cases of invasive carcinoma of cervix (ICC) and 16 cases of normal cervical epithelium remote from tumor (NCE). The relationships between the expressions of COX-2, MMP-9 in ICC and some characteristics relating to clinical pathology of cervical carcinoma such as histological grading, lymph node metastasis, stromal invasion and FIGO stage were analyzed statistically. Results: The rates of the positive expressions of COX-2 and MMP-9 in ICC were significantly higher than those in NCE. COX-2: 88.9% (64/72) in group ICC and 12.5% (2/16) in group NCE, P = 0.000; MMP-9: 94.4% (68/72) in group ICC and 43.8% (7/16) in group NCE, P = 0.000. The expression of COX-2 was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (r = 0.296, P = 0.012) and stromal invasion (r = 0.257, P = 0.029). The expression of MMP-9 was positively correlated with FIGO stage (r = 0.329, P = 0.005) and histological grading (r = 0.351, P = 0.003). The expression of COX-2 was positively correlated with the expression of MMP-9 in ICC (r = 0.297, P = 0.011). Conclusion: The overexpressions of COX-2 and MMP-9 were closely related to the invasion and growth of cervical carcinoma. The tissue with the overexpression of COX-2 had strong invasion ability. COX-2 and MMP-9 had synergistic effect on proliferation, invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. Detecting the coexpression of COX-2 and MMP-9 may be of value in further understanding the biological behavior and predicting the prognosis of cervical carcinoma.
