International Journal of Medical Laboratory

Background and Aims: Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide in men. Matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) has a role in the invasion and destruction of the basement membrane and the extra-cellular matrix and facilitating the process of tumor cell invasion. The present study was conducted to compare the expression of MMP2 gene in prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Materials and Methods: 48 samples of PCa and 48 samples of BPH (as controls) were examined. RNA was extracted from paraffin tissue blocks and then used for cDNA synthesize. The real time polymerase chain reaction method was used to quantify the expression of MMP2 gene. The level of gene expression was assessed using participants’ clinicopathological characteristics.

Results: The expression of MMP2 gene increased in the PCa samples compared with the BPH samples (p=0.003). MMP2 gene increased in all the grades of this group compared with the controls. The highest expression, however, was observed in the moderately differentiated grade. No significant correlations or relationships were observed in the PCa samples between prostate specific antigen and the other study variables such as age, MMP2 expression, disease grade and the Gleason score; however a positive correlation was observed between prostate specific antigen and the samples' pathological stage.

Conclusions: The expression of MMP2 increased in the PCa samples compared with the BPH samples, with the highest expression occurring in the samples with a Gleason score of 6. Further tests and studies conducted with larger sample sizes may help to use this marker in differentiating malignant from benign samples.