Plasma Matrilysins MMP-7 and MMP-26 Concentrations as Diagnostic Biomarkers for Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract Background: Metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of proteolytic enzymes involved in the maintenance of a proper structure of extracellular matrix (ECM). Matrilysins (MMP-7 and MMP-26) are the one of the group of MMPs that could represent potential breast cancer (BC) markers. The aim of the study was to evaluate plasma levels of MMP-7, MMP-26 and CA 15-3 individually and in combination and assess the a diagnostic utility of studied matrilysins in BC patients. Methods: The study group consisted of 120 patients with BC, the control group consisted of 40 patients with benign breast cancer and 40 healthy women. Concentrations of MMP-7 and MMP-26 were determined by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, CA 15-3 by Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay.Results: The plasma levels of MMP-7 were significantly higher in the entire BC group than in the control group. Concentrations of MMP-26 and CA 15-3 were the highest in the III and IV stage of disease. The highest diagnostic sensitivity was observed in the III and IV stage of cancer for set of all tested markers (92.5%). The highest diagnostic specificity was noted for all tested parameters in all studied BC group (95.0%). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) set of markers (MMP-7+MMP-26+CA 15-3) was the largest (0.9138) in III and IV stage. Also individual marker analysis showed that MMP-7 had the highest AUC (0.8894) in advanced stages of disease. Conclusions: Data suggested that MMP-7 can be considered as additional marker improving diagnostic utility of CA 15-3 in early stages of BC patients. Therefore, combined analysis of MMP-7 and MMP-26 with CA 15-3 might be useful in detection of disease progression. Future investigation is needed to evaluate whether matrilysins might be a potential markers improving diagnosis of BC.