MMP12 is a Potential Predictive and Prognostic Biomarker of Various Cancers Including Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Objective: This study sought to explore the clinical value of matrix metalloproteinases 12 () in multiple cancers, including lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).

Methods: Using >10,000 samples, this retrospective study demonstrated the first pan-cancer analysis of . The expression of between cancer groups and their control groups was analyzed using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. The clinical significance of expression in multiple cancers was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curves, Kaplan-Meier curves, and univariate Cox analysis. A further LUAD-related analysis based on 4565 multi-center and in-house samples was performed to verify the findings regarding MMP12 in pan-cancer analysis partly.

Results: mRNA is highly expressed in 13 cancers compared to their controls, and the MMP12 protein level is elevated in some of these cancers (e.g., colon adenocarcinoma) ( < .05). expression makes it feasible to distinguish 21 cancer tissues from normal tissues (AUC = 0.86). A high expression is a prognosis risk factor in eight cancers, such as adrenocortical carcinoma (hazard ratio >1, < .05). The elevated expression is also a prognosis protective factor in breast-invasive carcinoma and colon adenocarcinoma (hazard ratio <1, < .05). Some pan-cancer findings regarding are verified in LUAD-MMP12 expression is upregulated in LUAD at both the mRNA and protein levels ( < .05), has the potential to distinguish LUAD with considerable accuracy (AUC = .91), and plays a risk prognosis factor for patients with the disease ( < .05).

Conclusions: is highly expressed in most cancers and may serve as a novel biomarker for the prediction and prognosis of numerous cancers.