Abstract: Objective To investigate the expressions of matrix metalloproteinase-7 （MMP-7）, basic fibroblast growth factor （bFGF） in NSCLC, and to elucidate the correlations among MMP7, bFGF and MVD, as well as their relationships with cancer metastasis in NSCLC. Methods The expressions of MMP-7, bFGF and MVD were detected by immunohistochemical SP method in 80 cases of NSCLC and 40 cases of normal lung tissue, compare the expression of MMP-7 and bFGF in NSCLC and normal lung tissue, and then invest the relationship between their expression and lymph node metastasis in NSCLC. The MVD was investigated within the CD34 positive slides,  check the relationship between MVD and the expression of MMP-7 , bFGF in NSCLC, and also its relationship with histology type, differentiation degree, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage. Results The positive rates of MMP-7 and bFGF were significantly higher in NSCLC than those in normal lung tissue (70.0% vs 12.5%, χ2＝35.276, P＝0.000; 65.0% vs 10.0%, χ2＝32.411, P＝0.000). The positive rates of MMP-7 and bFGF were also significantly higher in group with lymph node metastasis compared to those group without lymph node metastasis (83.0% vs 51.5%, χ2＝9.139, P＝0.003; 80.9% vs 42.4%, χ2=12.584, P＝0.000). The numbers of MVD were significantly higher in cases with MMP-7 and bFGF positive expressions than those in cases with MMP-7 and bFGF negative expressions (46.78±11.11 vs 31.12±7.62, t＝5.831, P＝0.000; 45.05±10.97 vs 34.77±8.56, t＝5.364, P＝0.000). The number of MVD in group with lymph node metastasis was also significantly higher than that in group without lymph node metastasis (61.32±21.61 vs 40.52±18.31, t＝3.865, P＝0.008). The number of MVD in staging Ⅲ-Ⅳ group was significantly higher than that in stagingⅠ-Ⅱgroup ( 55.28±15.64 vs 41.73±16.48, t＝2.531, P＝0.013). Conclusion The expression levels of MMP-7 and bFGF in NSCLC are high, and the positive rates of MMP-7 and bFGF are correlated with the lymphnode metastasis. The numbers of MVD are significantly higher in cases with MMP7 and bFGF positive expressions than those in cases with MMP7 and bFGF negative expressions. MVD is correlated with lymph node metastasis and the TNM stage. It suggests that the expressions of MMP7, bFGF and MVD may involve in the invasion and metastasis of NSCLC.

Key words: Carcinoma, non-small-cell lung, Immunohistochemistry, Matrix metalloproteinase-7, Basic fibroblast growth factor, Microvascular density