Background/Aim: Matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) plays an important role in metastasis behavior of cancer cells, and overexpression of MMP-7 has been associated with poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer. However, the contribution of various genotypes of has not yet been investigated in lung cancer in Taiwan. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association of MMP-7 genotypes with lung cancer risk among the Taiwanese. Materials and Methods: In this hospital-based case-control study, genotypes and distributions at two promoter sites of MMP-7, A-181G and C-153T, were determined, and their association with lung cancer risk in Taiwan was evaluated among 358 lung cancer patients and 716 age-and gender-matched healthy control individuals. In addition, the interaction of MMP-7 genotypes and smoking status were also examined. Results: The percentages of variant AG and GG at MMP-7 A-181G in the lung cancer group were similar to the control group (12.8% and 2.3% vs. 11.3% and 1.5%, respectively; p trend =0.5294). The allelic frequency distribution analysis showed that the variant G allele at MMP-7 A-181G conferred non-significant elevated lung cancer risk compared to the wild-type A allele [odds ratio (OR)=1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0. 85-1.66, p=0.2289]. As for the genotypes of MMP-7 C-153T, all the studied Taiwanese population was of CC genotype. Furthermore, there was no obvious joint effect of MMP-7 A-181G genotype and smoking status on the lung cancer risk. No statistically significant correlation was observed between MMP-7 A-181G genotype distributions and gender. Conclusion: There was no evidence that the genotypes of MMP-7 A-181G may act as a biomarker in determining personal susceptibility to lung cancer in Taiwan.

Background Patients with early-stage breast cancer have numerous options when choosing the type of breast surgery method to be applied. Each of these options lead to a similar long-term survival rate, but result in significant differences in appearance, function, cost, recurrence rate, and various other relevant considerations. However, the time available for detailed communication with each patient is often limited in clinics, which puts these women under great psychological stress and can hinder their surgery-related decision making. Objective The objective of this study was to develop a multipurpose surgery decision-making website providing medical information, psychological support, and decision-related simulation for women during breast cancer surgery-related decision making. Methods Using the 4 steps of action research, which involve multigroup teamwork via regular team meetings, the following were performed: (1) Planning: searching, analyzing, and evaluating health websites to consensually decide the major infrastructure; (2) Action: work was performed simultaneously in 4 groups, which consisted of medical information collection and editing, patient interviews and data extraction, webpage content design, and programming to create or host the website; (3) Evaluation: the website was tested by clinical experts and focus groups of former breast cancer patients to assess its effectiveness and pinpoint appropriate improvements; and (4) Reflection: constant dialogue was conducted between the various participants at each step, which was used as the foundation and motivation of next plan-action-evaluation-reflection circle. Results Using the action research approach, we completed the development of our website, which includes the following: (1) “Woman’s Voice”—an animated comic depicting the story of a female breast cancer patient with interspersed questions for the users that will help them better empathize with the experience; (2) “Cancer Information Treasure House”—providing breast cancer surgery-related information through text, tables, pictures and a presentation video; (3) “Decision-making Simulator”—helping patients think through and check the pros and cons of the different surgical options via visual-based interactions including “Stairs Climbing” and “Fruit of Hope”; and (4) “Recommended Links”—providing reliable websites for further reference. Additionally, we have further improved the website based on the feedback received from postsurgery breast cancer patients and clinicians. We hope to continue improving to better meet both the patients’ and health providers’ needs and become a practical decision-making aid for patients undergoing breast cancer surgery. Conclusions We have created the first breast cancer surgery decision-making assistance tool in Taiwan using a “Web-based” and multifunctional website design. This site aims to provide health care knowledge, psychological ...

Background/Aim: The breakage of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) has been reported to be one of the mechanisms required for tumor invasion, and the expression of MMP-7 in serum is correlated with poor prognosis of urinary bladder cancer patients. However, the role of the MMP-7 genotypes has been seldom examined among bladder cancer patients. Therefore, this study aimed at examining the promoter polymorphic MMP-7 genotypes A-181G and C-153T among Taiwanese bladder cancer patients and evaluate the contribution of the genotypic variants of MMP-7 to bladder cancer risk in Taiwan. Materials and Methods: Three hundred and seventy-five bladder cancer patients and the same number of gender-and age-matched healthy controls were genotyped for A-181G and C-153T in the promoter of MMP-7 via polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methodology. Results: The frequencies of AA, AG and GG at A-181G of the promoter of MMP-7 were 89.1, 8.8 and 2.1% in the bladder cancer patient group and 87.5, 10.9 and 1.6% in the matched healthy control group, respectively (p for trend=0.5475). There was no polymorphic genotype for MMP-7 C-153T among the Taiwanese population. The comparisons in allelic frequency distribution also support the findings that the G allele may not be the determinant allele for bladder cancer in Taiwan. In addition, the results showed that there is no significant association of the bladder risk with the MMP-7 A-181G genotype, even after adjustment for the possible confounding factors. Furthermore, there is no interaction of the genotypes of MMP-7 with age, gender, smoking and alcohol consumption on bladder cancer risk. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the two MMP-7 polymorphisms,-A-181G and C-153T, do not play a major role in determining personal susceptibility to bladder cancer in Taiwan. Bladder cancer is the 2nd most common urological malignancy worldwide, contributing to about 5% of cancer deaths and is estimated to cost four million dollars each year (1). According to the statistical data provided by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, there were an estimated 429,800 new cases of bladder cancer and 165,100 deaths in 2012 worldwide, and males are four times more likely to develop the disease than females (1, 2). In Taiwan, bladder cancer ranks seventh in incidence and mortality among the common types of cancer (3, 4). Tumorigenesis of bladder cancer is a complex, multistep and multifactorial process being the result of interactions of lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors (3-9). The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs, matrixins) are a family of endopeptidases that have been reported to play a key role in maintaining the homeostasis of extracellular matrix (ECM) components and the processes of inflammation, carcinogenesis and cancer cell migration (10, 11). Since the 1045 This article is freely accessible online.