The importance of changes in the amount of matrix metalloproteinases in blood plasma in the pathogenesis of malignant skin tumors

Abstract

Relevance. According to modern data, matrix metalloproteinases play a great role in the pathogenesis of malignant tumors, playing an important role in the degradation of the extracellular matrix, which contributes to the spread of malignant cells throughout the body.

Objective: to assess the role of matrix metalloproteinases in the pathogenesis of malignant skin tumors.

Materials and methods. The study included 40 patients of both sexes, average age 63 ± 4 years, who were treated at the regional oncology dispensary in Saratov from 2020 to 2024. All patients were divided into two groups: the first included 20 people diagnosed with basal cell skin cancer, the second - 20 people diagnosed with squamous cell skin cancer. The comparison group included 10 patients of similar age, without oncological pathology. During the study, the level of inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and matrix metalloproteinases-2, -7, -9 (MMPs-2, MMPs-7 and MMPs-9) in blood plasma was determined. Determination of TIMP-1 and MMPs-2, -7, -9 in the BCC and RCC groups was performed before surgical treatment, and 5 and 10 days after surgery, and in the remote (at least a year) postoperative period. In the comparison (control) group, biochemical studies were performed once.

Results. Before surgical treatment for malignant skin neoplasms, patients in both groups showed a decrease in the amount of TIMP-1, which was accompanied by an increase in the amount of MMPs-2, MMPs-7 and MMPs-9. The severity of changes in the studied parameters depended on the degree of tumor malignancy. Thus, in the group of patients with basal cell skin cancer, less pronounced changes in the amount of TIMP-1 and MMPs in the blood serum were noted compared to the group with squamous cell skin cancer. By the fifth and tenth days after the surgical treatment, statistically significant differences from the control in laboratory parameters were not noted in patients with BCC of the skin. In the group of patients with SCC, the levels of TIMP-1, and MMPs-2, MMPs-7, MMPs-9 on the fifth and tenth days after the surgical treatment remained significantly different both in comparison with the control parameters and the parameters of patients with basal cell skin cancer. In the late postoperative period, the results obtained did not differ from the data from the tenth postoperative day.

Conclusion. The study shows that matrix metalloproteinases are involved in the pathogenesis of malignant skin tumors, and the severity of their participation depends on the type of tumor. The greatest changes in the content of matrix metalloproteinases were found in squamous cell skin cancer, less pronounced - in basal cell skin cancer.