Circulating Anti–Matrix Metalloproteinase-7 Antibodies May Be a Potential Biomarker for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Purpose The present study was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic values of serum autoantibody against matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Materials and Methods Anti–MMP-7 antibodies were measured in sera from 204 patients with OSCC and 212 normal controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and clinicopathologic characteristics were correlated. Prognostic consequence was assessed with Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank tests using Cox proportional hazard models. To check whether anti–MMP-7 antibody was related to tumor associated antigen, real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot were used to measure MMP-7 mRNA and protein expression in tumor tissues from all 204 patients with OSCC. Results Serum anti–MMP-7 antibody was higher in patients with OSCC ( P P P P Conclusion Serum anti–MMP-7 antibody might be a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for OSCC.