Correlation of DCC and MMP-9 expression with the ultrasonic appearance in breast cancer        LI Wen-tao*, WU Gang, ZHI Hui, et al. *Department of Breast Surgery, the People's Hospital of Henan Province, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Corresponding author: ZHAI Bao-ping, E-mail：zhaibaoping@163.com
Abstract    Objective    To investigate the correlation of DCC and MMP-9 expression with the ultrasonic appearance in breast cancer. Methods    Seventy samples of breast cancer and surrounding non-tumour breast tissues were resected between June 2010 and April 2011 in the Department of Breast Surgery, the People’s Hospital of Henan Province. Expression of DCC and MMP-9 was examined using immunohistochemistry technique. The results were compared with the ultrasonic features of breast cancer. MDI of breast infiltrating ductal carcinoma and breast fibroma was measured. Results    The frequency of DCC expression was 82.9% for morphological normal breast tissue and 38.6% for breast cancer respectively (P<0.05). The frequency of MMP-9 expression was 17.1% for morphological normal breast tissue and 78.6% for breast cancer respectively (P<0.05). DCC and MMP-9 expression correlated with breast cancer invasion and metastasis in ultrasonography. There was significant difference between the MDI of DCC/MMP-9 positive expression and negative expression (P<0.05). Conclusion    Expression of DCC and MMP-9 may play some roles in occurrence, development and metastasis of breast cancer. Combination of DCC, MMP-9 expression and ultrasonic appearance can be effective to predict the prognosis of breast cancer.