Clinical significance of matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression in papillary thyroid carcinoma: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and pathological indexes in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Evidence obtained The database was searched in PubMed, Embase, CNKI, and Web of Science databases for relevant clinical trials. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) show the effect of MMP-9 expression and age, tumour size, gender, lymph node metastasis (LNM), and TNM (tumour, lymph node, metastasis) stage. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using Stata 17.0. Evidence synthesis A total of 1433 patients with PTC were included in this meta-analysis. MMP-9 expression was significantly correlated with LNM (OR = 3.92, 95% CI = 2.71–5.65, P = 0.000), tumour size (OR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.13–2.52, P = 0.011), and TNM stage (OR = 2.95, 95% CI = 2.10–4.13, P = 0.000), but not with gender (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.66–1.22, P = 0.487) and age (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 0.93–1.98, P = 0.115). Conclusions Our meta-analysis showed that MMP-9 was significantly associated with LNM, tumour size, and TNM stage; therefore, MMP-9 may be a reliable prognostic biomarker for patients with PTC. However, more high-quality studies are needed to support these findings further.