Matrix metalloproteinases participation in the metastatic process and their diagnostic and therapeutic applications in cancer.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) participate from the initial phases of cancer onset to the settlement of a metastatic niche in a second organ. Their role in cancer progression is related to their involvement in the extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and in the regulation and processing of adhesion and cytoskeletal proteins, growth factors, chemokines and cytokines. MMPs participation in cancer progression makes them an attractive target for cancer therapy.

Primary adenoid cystic carcinoma of the tracheobronchial tree: A decade-long experience at a health centre in Mexico.

Background: Mexico's National Institute of Respiratory Diseases (NIRD) is a third-level national reference center. Primary adenoid cystic carcinoma (PACC) is an uncommon neoplastic disorder; hence improvements in the description of this disease are needed.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective clinical study based on all consecutive patients with pathological diagnoses of PACC seen at the NIRD between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2009.

Differences in plasma MMPs and TIMPs protein expression and chemotherapy response in patients with tobacco- or wood-smoke-induced lung cancer.

Background: One of the risk factors associated with lung cancer in never-smoker patients is wood smoke exposure (WS). However, information about its clinical and molecular characteristics remains scant.

Objective: This was to analyze--in plasma from patients with tobacco- or wood-smoke-induced lung cancer--whether the enzymatic activity and concentration of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs) differ, and to determine whether there was a correlation between these indicators of the metastatic potential and the first-line chemotherapy response.

Gelatinase activity of matrix metalloproteinases during first-line chemotherapy in lung adenocarcinoma patients: an initial approach.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine if gelatinase activity of plasma matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) can be used as a method to assess chemotherapy response and cancer progression in primary lung adenocarcinoma patients.

Methods: A group of 28 patients was divided according to risk factor as follows: lung cancer associated with wood smoke exposure (LCW), lung cancer in tobacco smokers (LCT), and patients with no association to a known risk factor (LCN). Plasma gelatinase activity was measured by zymography and radiolabeled gelatin degradation.

Brain metastasis development and poor survival associated with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a prospective analysis.

Background: Central nervous system is a common site of metastasis in NSCLC and confers worse prognosis and quality of life. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of clinical-pathological factors (CPF), serum CEA levels, and EGFR and HER2 tissue-expression in brain metastasis (BM) and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Methods: In a prospective manner, we studied 293 patients with NSCLC in IIIB-IV clinical stage.