Abstract：【Objective】To investigate the expression levels and significance of plasma matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9), tissue matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor-1 (TIMP-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 【Methods】Plasma samples from 70 patients with non-small cell lung cancer were selected as the observation group. Plasma samples from 70 healthy volunteers were selected as the control group. The levels of MMP-9, TIMP-1 and VEGF in the plasma samples of the two groups were detected and compared; their correlation with pathological features and prognosis of NSCLC were analyzed. The survival of 70 patients with NSCLC was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method. 【Results】The levels of plasma MMP-9, TIMP-1 and VEGF in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that MMP-9 was significantly correlated with TIMP-1 and VEGF (P<0.05), though TIMP-1 had no significant correlation with VEGF (P>0.05). The levels of MMP-9, TIMP-1 and VEGF in plasma of NSCLC patients were significantly correlated with tumor size, pathological differentiation, T stage, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and TNM stage (P<0.05).The Kaplan-Meier curve was drawn by GraphPad Prims software for survival analysis. According to the Cut-off value, patients were divided into high expression group and low expression group. The results showed that the 5-year survival rate of MMP9 and VEGF low expression group was significantly longer than that of MMP9 and VEGF high expression group. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the 5-year survival rate between the TIMP-1 low expression group and the TIMP-1 high expression group (P>0.05). 【Conclusion】The expression levels of MMP-9 and VEGF in plasma of NSCLC patients are significantly increased, which is of great significance for evaluating the condition and prognosis of patients with NSCLC.
2019, Vol. 36 
