system
Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: BACKGROUND, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Adenocarcinoma, Aged, Biomarkers, Tumor, Colon, Colonic Neoplasms, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Lymphatic Metastasis, Male, Matrix Metalloproteinase 2, Middle Aged, Neoplasm Staging, Prognosis, Survival Rate.
user
Is matrix metalloproteinase-9 overexpression closely related to poor prognosis in patients with colon cancer? Context: Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is an important member of the matrix metalloproteinase family and is considered to be involved in the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. This study analyzed the expression of MMP-9 in colon cancer patients and the relationship between this expression and clinicopathological features and survival. We immunohistochemically investigated 68 specimens of colon cancer tissues and corresponding distal normal mucosa tissues using MMP-9 antibody. Then, the correlation between MMP-9 expression and clinicopathological features and its prognostic relevance were determined. The expression rate of MMP-9 in colon cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in distal normal mucosa (69.1% versus 2.9%, P < 0.001). Significant correlations were only found between high levels of MMP-9 expression and metastasis of lymph nodes and Dukes' stage. Overexpression of MMP-9 was associated with shorter survival times in univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis confirmed that MMP-9 expression was an independent prognostic factor.
assistant
MMP-9 is correlated with the metastasis of lymph nodes, and its elevated expression may be an adverse prognostic indicator for the patients of colon cancer. Final Decision: yes