Plasma TIMP‐1—a marker of metastasis in colorectal cancer

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Abstract
Objective: To assess a potential role for plasma assay of TIMP‐1 and MMP‐9 as markers of disease presence and disease stage in colorectal cancer.Patients and methods: Plasma concentration of TIMP‐1 and MMP‐9 was measured in 41 patients with proven colorectal cancer and in 20 age/sex‐matched controls. In the 38 cancer patients who underwent laparotomy, portal plasma samples were collected in addition to peripheral venous samples, to assess whether these might be a more sensitive indicator of disease severity.Results: In samples taken preoperatively, systemic plasma levels of both TIMP‐1 and MMP‐9 were significantly elevated in cancer patients compared with controls (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001), respectively. Systemic and portal plasma TIMP‐1 levels were significantly higher in those with metastatic disease compared with those with localized disease (P=0.0248 and P=0.0382). Elevated levels of TIMP‐1 in systemic blood were seen in those with muscle‐invading tumours compared with more superficial lesions (P=0.0349). Plasma MMP‐9 levels did not correlate with clinicopathological features.Conclusion: TIMP‐1 and MMP‐9 levels were significantly elevated in the plasma of patients with colorectal cancer. Metastatic disease is associated with significantly higher plasma TIMP‐1 than is localized disease. Sampling of portal blood is of no additional benefit when measuring MMP‐9 enzyme levels in colorectal cancer.