Chinese Journal of Lung Cancer (Aug 2010)
Overexpression of IL-8 and MMP-9 Confer High Malignant Phenotype in Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer
Abstract
Background and objective IL-8 (interleukin-8) has been identified as a chemotactic factor, but recent found that IL-8 and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) are important cytokines which are closely related to the growth and metastasis of tumor. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between IL-8, MMP-9 expressions and clinical pathological features of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and evaluate the diagnostic potential of IL-8, MMP-9 as tumor markers. Methods The serum levels of IL-8 and MMP-9 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbentassay (ELISA) in 141 NSCLC patients, 40 healthy adults and 40 patients with benign pulmonary disease. The expressions of IL-8 and MMP-9 were detected by immunohistochemical method in 95 NSCLC tissues, and 21 benign disease lung tissues, 25 normal lung tissues as control. Results The level of expression of IL-8 and MMP-9 in serum and tissue of NSCLC was significantly higher than that of healthy and benign respiratory disease, and the expression was gradually increased with the upgrade of clinicopathological stage. The serum and tissue expression of IL-8 and MMP-9 in NSCLC patients with lymph node metastasis was remarkably higher than that without lymph node metastasis. There is an positive correlation (r=0.765) between IL-8 and MMP-9 in the tissue of NSCLC patients. Conclusion This study has confirmed that IL-8, MMP-9 expressions are related to the development of NSCLC. There is an obvious correlation between IL-8 expression and lymph node metastasis, IL-8 may facilitate the lymph node metastasis by up-regulating MMP-9 expression. Serum level of IL-8 is a valuable auxiliary parameter in diagnosing lymph node metastases of NSCLC with good sensitivity and specificity.
