RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Correlation between Expression of the Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 Gene in Ovarian Cancers and an Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism in Its Promoter Region JF Cancer Research JO Cancer Res FD American Association for Cancer Research SP 4225 OP 4227 VO 59 IS 17 A1 Kanamori, Yasunobu A1 Matsushima, Mieko A1 Minaguchi, Takeo A1 Kobayashi, Kanji A1 Sagae, Satoru A1 Kudo, Ryuichi A1 Terakawa, Naoki A1 Nakamura, Yusuke YR 1999 UL http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/59/17/4225.abstract AB Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a family of closely related enzymes that degrade the extracellular matrix, are likely to be involved in invasion and metastasis of tumor cells. A guanine (G) insertion/deletion polymorphism within the promoter region of MMP-1 influences the transcription of this gene; i.e., the 2G (insertion-type) promoter possesses greater transcriptional activity than the 1G (deletion-type) promoter. To investigate whether this feature contributes to cancer development and/or progression, we genotyped 163 ovarian cancer patients for the polymorphism and then analyzed levels of expression of the MMP-1 gene in their tumors. The proportion of patients who were either heterozygotes or homozygotes for the 2G allele was significantly higher than that observed among 150 individuals without cancer (P = 0.028). Moreover, the levels of MMP-1 expression in cancer tissues among the patients carrying 2G alleles were elevated significantly in comparison with 1G homozygotes (P = 0.0038). By stimulating degradation of extracellular matrix, an excess of MMP-1 production may enhance development and/or rapid progression of ovarian cancers.