Increased expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 associated with gastric ulcer recurrence

Table 1 Clinical characteristics of the patients enrolled in the study n (%)

Characteristics	GU group (n = 63)	CSG group (n = 25)
Sex
Male	31 (49.2)	15 (60.0)
Female	32 (50.8)	10 (40.0)
Age, yr (mean ± SD)	47.8 ± 12.9	51.3 ± 8.5
H. pylori infection
Positive	54 (85.7)	10 (40.0)
Negative	9 (14.3)	15 (60.0)
Position of ulcer
Corpus	18 (28.6)	-
Antrum	45 (71.4)	-

GU: Gastric ulcer; CSG: Chronic superficial gastritis; H. pylori: Helicobacter pylori.

Table 2 Association between levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and the histological degree at the margin of the gastric ulcer

Variables		Activity	Inflammation	Atrophy	Metaplasia
MMP-9	r	0.280	0.310	0.180	-0.030
	P	0.0261	0.0141	0.163	0.842
TIMP-1	r	0.270	0.280	0.120	0.050
	P	0.0301	0.0251	0.371	0.687

¹By Spearman correlation analysis. MMP: Matrix metalloproteinase; TIMP: Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase.