Upregulated TIMP-1 correlates with poor prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

The tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) is an endogenous inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases and potential biomarker of various types of human cancers. However, the association between TIMP-1 expression and the clinical features of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is barely investigated. In this study, one-step quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining with tissue microarrays were employed to evaluate the relationship between TIMP-1 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of LSCC. Results showed that the TIMP-1 mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly higher in LSCC than in the corresponding non-cancerous tissues (p<0.05). TIMP-1 protein expression in LSCC was associated with tumor differentiation (p=0.012) and overall survival (p=0.043). Kaplan-Meier method and Cox multi-factor analysis suggested that high TIMP-1 expression (p=0.008) and positive lymph node metastasis (p=0.029) were significantly associated with the poor survival of patients with LSCC. These data indicated that TIMP-1 may be identified as a prognostic marker of LSCC.