Serum concentrations of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and vascular endothelial growth factor affect the prognosis of primary hepatic carcinoma patients treated with percutaneous ethanol injection

Aims: The present study is to investigate changes in serum concentrations of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) before and after percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) in primary hepatic carcinomas (PHC), and their effects on the prognosis.

Methods: A total of 100 patients with PHC received PEI treatment in our hospital between July 2010 and July 2014. Another 100 PHC patients who had PHC resected were included as control group. For PEI treatment, anhydrous ethanol was slowly injected into the tumor every 2-3 days for consecutive 4-10 times. The evaluation of treatment efficacy was performed in accordance with the standards by Union for International Cancer Control. Serum concentrations of MMP-9 and VEGF were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The median values of MMP-9 and VEGF concentrations were used as the cutoff value to discriminate high and low MMP-9 and VEGF contents. Kaplan-Meier plots were used to examine how serum concentrations of MMP-9 and VEGF affected postoperative survival of PHC patients.

Results: PEI treatment decreased the serum contents of MMP-9 and VEGF after the surgery. PEI had high effectiveness against PHC tumors during the surgery. PEI treatment led to higher survival rate in PHC patients compared with PHC resection. Serum levels of MMP-9 and VEGF were related to different Child grading, Kps scoring, BCLC staging and AFP contents. Lower preoperative serum concentrations of MMP-9 and VEGF might lead to longer survival time of PHC patients after PEI.

Conclusions: PEI treatment alters serum concentrations of MMP-9 and VEGF in PHC patients, which may have great effect on the prognosis.