Primary Tumor Levels of Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases-1 Are Predictive of Resistance to Chemotherapy in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer

Abstract

In the present exploratory study, we showed that elevated tumor tissue TIMP-1 levels were significantly associated with a poor response to chemotherapy. By using TIMP-1, we identified a group of patients with metastatic breast cancer, which hardly respond to the most frequently used chemotherapy regimes (i.e., cyclophosphamide/methotrexate/5-fluorouracil and anthracyclines).