I.V. Boulytcheva, N.E. Kuhlinskii, Yu. N. Solov-ev, A.K. Iskindirova, I.V. Kazachok, E.K. Dvorova, A.N. Makhson

The expression levels of MMP-1, -2, -9 has been investigated in 10 benign cartilaginous tumors (osteochondroma - 5, chondroma - 5) and 39 chondrosarcomas (classic central - 14, periosteal - 4, dedifferentiated - 7, secondary - 14). The matrix metalloproteinase expression was negative in all examined benign human cartilaginous bone tumors. Our study have shown significant positive expression of metalloproteinase in chondrosarcoma cells: MMP-1 in 84.6% of cases, MMP-2 in 73.7 % of cases, MMP-9 in 97.4% of cases with the expression levels from 10 to 60%. No correlation was found between MMP-1 levels and gender of the patient, size and grade of the tumor, but correlate with the age. Expression of MMP-1 was more prominent in central and dedifferentiated chondrosarcomas. The levels of MMP-1(+) are closely associated with 3 year free survival and 5 year overall survival rate. The MMP-1 expression suggested aggressive behavior of the tumor. MMP-2 expression in chondrosaromas did not reflect clinical features, histological grade and variations of the tumor, and did not show prognostic value. MMP-9 expression correlate with the grade and size of the tumor (T criteria). MMP-9 expression more than 40% highly correlate with poor prognosis, less than 40% express positive factor for the 3 year free survival. The size of the tumor T3 in combination with MMP-9 expression more than 40% was considered a risk factor for relapse within a 1 year period.