Uloga metaloproteinaza matriksa i njihovih inhibitora u razvoju vratnih metastaza papilarnoga karcinoma štitne žlijezde [Role of matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in the development of cervical metastases in papillary thyroid cancer]

Papillary carcinoma is the most common thyroid cancer with the incidence increasing worldwide. It is characterized by a high number of cervical metastases. Research of the invasiveness and metastatic processes identified matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) as a key enzyme family in tumor progression, especially MMP-1, -2 and -9. MMP activity can be modulated by tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP 1-4). This research retrospectively investigated the expression of MMP-1, -2 and -9, as well as TIMP-1 and -2 in papillary thyroid carcinoma tissue. The aim of the study was to determine the association of MMP and TIMP with papillary thyroid cancer metastasis pattern by immunohistochemistry. The results obtained showed highest expression of MMP-1 and TIMP-1 in cancer tissue of patients with metastasis in the lateral region, while MMP-2, MMP-9 and TIMP-2 did not differ statistically according to the metastasis pattern. Comparing clinical features with expression data, MMP-1 significantly correlated with the disease stage and number of positive lymph nodes, TIMP-1 with number of positive lymph nodes and tumor stage, and TIMP-2 with tumor size and number of positive lymph nodes. According to this study, MMP-1 and TIMP-1, unlike other proteins analysed, appear to be associated with the papillary thyroid cancer metastasis patter