West Asia Organization for Cancer Prevention (WAOCP), APOCP's West Asia Chapter. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 1513-7368 22 8 2021 08 01 Tumor-Derived Matrix Metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) Expression in Benign and Malignant Breast Lesions 2603 2609 89732 10.31557/APJCP.2021.22.8.2603 EN Fereshteh Ameli Department of Pathology, Cancer Institute, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex,Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Firouzeh Ghafourina Nassab Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Noraidah Masir Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Farzan Kahtib Department of Electrical Engineering, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran. Journal Article 2021 05 26 Introduction: Breast carcinoma is the most common malignancy and the leading cause of cancer death in women. Matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) is a hypothetical prognostic marker in invasive breast cancer. This study aimed to determine MMP-13 expression in benign and malignant breast lesions and to evaluate the correlation between MMP-13 expression and tumor characteristics in invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Materials and Method: We evaluated cytoplasmic expression of MMP-13 based on staining index using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in epithelial cells, stromal fibroblasts of IDC (n=90) and benign epithelial breast (n=90) lesions. Correlation between IHC and tumor size, lymph node status, distance metastasis, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and Her-2/neu was assessed. Results: MMP-13 expression was 45% and 38.8% in malignant epithelial cells and peritumoral fibroblasts, respectively. Only low level of MMP-13 expression was seen in benign breast lesions (8.8% in epithelial component and 2.2% in stromal fibroblasts), while high level of MMP-13 expression was noted in malignant tumors, mainly grade II or III. Cytoplasmic MMP-13 expressions in epithelial tumor cells was correlated significantly with peritumoral fibroblasts. MMP-13 expression was directly correlated with distant metastasis and tumor stage in epithelial tumoral cells and was inversely correlated with progesterone expression in both tumoral and stromal cells. Conclusion: This study showed that MMP-13 was a moderator for tumor invasion and metastasis and could be an independent predictor of poor prognosis in breast cancer. The role of MMP-13 in predicting the risk of malignant transformation in benign lesions should be further investigated. https://journal.waocp.org/article_89732_37f3f138d6e6d9cd7ef841ca47a44cbb.pdf