Relationship between tumor metastasis-related genes and adenomyosis

AIM: To study the tumor metastasis-related genes expression in adenomyosis and normal endometrium in order to investigate the pathogenesis of adenomyosis. METHODS: 43 specimens of adenomyosis, 22 specimens of controls (normal endometrium) were studied. The expressions of nm23-H1, MMP-2, MMP-9, MT1-MMP, and TIMP-1 in adenomyosis and controls were detected by immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: The expression levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, and MT1-MMP in adenomyosis were significantly higher than those in controls ( P 0 01), but there were no significant difference in nm23-H1 and TIMP-1 ( P 0 05). CONCLUSION: MMP-2, MMP-9, especially MT1-MMP, maybe play an important role in the pathogenesis of adenomyosis.