Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25799912›Full record

ArticleCancer epidemiology2015

Plasma matrix metalloproteinase 2 levels and breast cancer risk.

Sarah A Aroner, Bernard A Rosner, Rulla M Tamimi, Shelley S Tworoger, Nadja Baur, Thomas O Joos, Susan E Hankinson

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer epidemiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 47% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Genes & diseases · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Sarah A AronerDepartment of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States. Electronic address: saroner@hsph.harvard.edu.
Bernard A RosnerDepartment of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Rulla M TamimiDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Shelley S TworogerDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
Nadja BaurNatural and Medical Sciences Institute, University of Tuebingen, Reutlingen, Germany.
Thomas O JoosNatural and Medical Sciences Institute, University of Tuebingen, Reutlingen, Germany.
Susan E HankinsonDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States.
Brigham and Women's Hospital · USHarvard University · USNatural and Medical Sciences Institute · DEUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst · US

Funding

Statistical MethodsP01CA087969 · NCI · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI TWOROGER, SHELLEY S · 2000 to 2019
$77.8M
Long Term Multidisciplinary Study of Cancer in Women: The Nurses Health StudyUM1CA186107 · NCI · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI ELIASSEN, A. HEATHER, STAMPFER, MEIR · 2014 to 2023
$22.3M
Training Program in Cancer EpidemiologyT32CA009001 · NCI · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI A. Heather Eliassen, Meir Stampfer · 1985 to 2026
$17.3M
BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS IN THE NURSES'HEALTH STUDY COHORTR01CA049449 · NCI · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI HANKINSON, SUSAN E · 1989 to 2008
$11.3M
NCI NIH HHS P01 CA087969NCI NIH HHS P01 CA87969NCI NIH HHS R01 CA049449NCI NIH HHS R01 CA49449NCI NIH HHS T32 CA009001NCI NIH HHS T32 CA09001NCI NIH HHS UM1 CA186107
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) is an enzyme with important functions in breast cancer invasion and metastasis. However, it is unclear whether circulating MMP2 levels may predict breast cancer risk. We conducted a prospective nested case-control analysis in the Nurses' Health Study among 1136 cases who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between 1992 and 2004 and 1136 matched controls. All participants provided blood samples in 1989-1990, and a subset (170 cases, 170 controls) contributed an additional sample in 2000-2002. Pre-diagnostic plasma MMP2 levels were measured via immunoassay, and conditional logistic regression was performed to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), adjusted for breast cancer risk factors. No association was observed between plasma MMP2 levels and risk of total invasive breast cancer (top vs. bottom quartile, OR=1.0; 95% CI: 0.7, 1.2; p-trend=0.89). Findings did not vary significantly by time since blood draw, body mass index, postmenopausal hormone use, or menopausal status at either blood draw or breast cancer diagnosis. MMP2 was associated with a greater risk of nodal metastases at diagnosis (top vs. bottom quartile, OR=1.5; 95% CI: 1.0, 2.2; p-heterogeneity, any vs. no lymph nodes=0.002), but no significant associations were observed with other tumor characteristics or with recurrent or fatal cancers. Plasma MMP2 levels do not appear to be predictive of total invasive breast cancer risk, although associations with aggressive disease warrant further study.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsCase-Control StudiesFemaleHumansLogistic ModelsMaleMatrix Metalloproteinase 2Middle AgedOdds RatioProspective StudiesRisk FactorsMatrix Metalloproteinase 2MMP2 protein, humanBreast cancerMatrix metalloproteinasesNested case–controlPlasmaRisk

Identifiers

PMID25799912
PMCPMC4446129
OpenAlexW2144619288

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.