Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Oulu and University Hospital of Oulu, Box 24, Oulu 90029 OYS, Finland. anne.talvensaari-mattila@oulu.fi
The immunoreactive protein for the matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) was studied prospectively from the pre-treatment sera of breast carcinoma patients using an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). The study comprised 71 primary breast carcinoma patients treated in Oulu University Hospital, Finland, between 1988 and 1991. The median follow-up time was over 10 years. Low preoperative serum MMP-9 (