Potential for Predicting Lymph-node Metastasis in Invasive Breast Carcinoma of No Special Type Using MT1-MMP Immunohistochemistry Staining

BACKGROUND: Lymph-node metastasis (LNM) is the most frequent complication of invasive breast carcinoma (IBC). AIM: Using immunohistochemistry (IHC), this study aims to determine the role of membrane-type 1-matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) expression as a biomarker for LNM in IBC of no special type (IBC-NST). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Primary tumors from individuals with IBC-NST were preserved in paraffin and then categorized as having LNM or not. Tumor size, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), tumor grade, MT1-MMP expression, and other factors were evaluated across a range of ages. MT1-MMP expression was assessed by IHC, with supplemental data acquired from archives. Collecting and analyzing the data required the use of both bivariate and multivariate techniques. RESULTS: The odds ratio (OR) for LNM was 5.003 (95% CI: 1.68–20.61) for MT1-MMP expression, while the OR for LVI was 4.71 (95% CI: 1.57–18.8). These associations were found using the Firth penalized likelihood Logit analysis method. At an H-score cutoff of 202.22 (70.8% sensitivity and 95.8% specificity), an area under the receiver operating characteristic of 0.9130.038 (95% CI: 0.838–0.989) was found for MT1-MMP expression in diagnosing LNM. CONCLUSION: In conjunction with LVI, MT1-MMP expression may serve as a predictor of LNM. To further assist data separation in future research, the MT1-MMP expression H-score cutoff of 202.22 could be used.