Expression and clinical significance of hypoxia inducible factor-1α, matrix metalloprotein-9 and microvascular density in bladder cancer

Objective To investigate the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), matrix metalloprotein-9 (MMP-9) and microvascular density (MVD) in bladder cancer and its clinical significance. Methods 51 tissues diagnosed as bladder cancer cured in department of urology of our hospital from February 2013 to November 2015 were selected as research objects, and 30 cases of non-bladder cancer patients with normal bladder specimens used as negative control group. Immunohistochemical method was implemented to observe the expression of HIF-1α, MMP-9 and MVD in bladder tissues. Results The positive rate of MMP-9 and HIF-1α was significantly higher than that in normal bladder tissues [60.78% (31/51) vs. 0.00% (0/30), P=0.000; 70.58% (36/51) vs. 16.67% (5/30), P=0.000]; The score of the expression of HIF-1α, MMP-9 in bladder tissues were significantly higher than those in normal bladder tissues (4.31±1.03 vs. 1.12±0.07, P=0.000; 4.64±0.98 vs. 1.53±0.21, P=0.000). The expression of MVD in bladder cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in normal bladder tissues (38.06±9.04 vs. 19.17±5.19; t=11.946, P=0.000). The expressionof HIF-1α, MMP-9 and MVD in bladder cancer whose diameter more than 3 cm was significantly higher than that in tumor diameter whichless than 3 cm (P=0.025, 0.009, 0.011). The expression of HIF-1α, MMP-9 and MVD in invasive bladder cancerwas significantly higher than that of superficial bladder cancer tissue (P=0.000, 0.000, 0.035). Spearman correlation analysis results demonstrated that HIF-1α, MMP-9 expression showed a significant positive correlation with MVD expression levels (P=0.000, 0.001). Conclusion HIF-1α, MMP-9 and MVD in bladder cancer expression was significantly up-regulated and for assessment tumor size, clinical stage and pathological grade, which has good prospects for clinical application. Key words: Hypoxia inducible factor-1α; Matrix metalloprotein-9; Microvascular density; Bladder cancer; Expression; Clinical significance