Differences in Extracellular Matrix Composition and its Role in Invasion in Primary and Secondary Intracerebral Malignancies.

Background/aim: The most common malignant primary brain tumor is glioblastoma which infiltrates the peritumoral brain, while secondary brain metastases are well demarcated malignancies. Previous research has proved the pivotal role of the changes in the extracellular matrix (ECM) in cancer cell invasion.

Materials And Methods: The mRNA expression of 40 ECM molecules was determined using qRT-PCR in 54 fresh-frozen glioblastoma and brain metastasis samples.

Brevican, neurocan, tenascin-C and versican are mainly responsible for the invasiveness of low-grade astrocytoma.

The extent of tumor removal determines the effectiveness of postoperative oncotherapy. This is especially true for primary brain tumors, where peritumoral invasion usually makes radical resection impossible. The aim of the study was to determinate the specific expression pattern of invasion related molecules of different intracranial tumors and to identify molecules that are principally responsible for the peritumoral invasiveness of grade II astrocytoma mRNA expression of 26 extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules was determined in tissue samples from grade II astrocytoma, schwannoma, intracerebral metastases of non-small cell lung cancer and normal brain.