genetic basis of thyroid cancer: the role of mmp2 and mmp9 polymorphisms

Background: matrix metalloproteinases (mmps) play a critical role in tumor invasion and metastasis in papillary thyroid carcinoma (ptc). this study investigates the association of mmp2 (rs7201) and mmp9 (rs17576) polymorphisms with ptc risk and clinical characteristics, aiming to inform personalized medicine approaches.methods: a case-control study was conducted with 210 ptc patients and 210 controls. genotype frequencies were analyzed using chi-square tests, and odds ratios (ors) with 95% confidence intervals (cis) were calculated. associations with clinical characteristics (t status, n status, stage) were assessed in ptc patients.results: the mmp2 rs7201 cc genotype was significantly associated with increased ptc risk (or = 3.524, 95% ci = 1.809–6.867, p = 0.001) and advanced t status (t3: 48.6%, p = 0.029), but not with n status (p = 0.509) or stage (p = 0.461). the c allele was more frequent in cases (44%) than controls (32%) (or = 1.590, p = 0.001). conversely, mmp9 rs17576 showed no association with ptc risk (gg: or = 0.727, p = 0.277) or clinical characteristics (p > 0.05). both polymorphisms were in hardy-weinberg equilibrium in controls.conclusion: the mmp2 rs7201 cc genotype and c allele are associated with increased ptc risk and tumor progression, highlighting their potential as biomarkers for personalized risk stratification. these findings support genotype-based screening to identify high-risk ptc patients, enabling tailored surveillance and therapeutic strategies. further studies are needed to validate these associations and explore their utility in precision medicine.