Abstract:Objective To investigate the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), Ets transcription factor-1 (Ets-1) and filament protein A (FLNa) in colon cancer patients. Methods Totally 24 patients diagnosed with colon cancer were enrolled. Cancer tissues, para-cancerous tissues and normal colorectal tissues were collected. The expression levels of MMP-9, Ets-1 and FLNa were determined.Correlations between tumor clinicopathological parameters and the expression levels of MMP-9, Ets-1and FLNawereanalyzed. Results Expression of MMP-9 and Ets-1 was increased while FLNa was decreased significantly in tumor tissues when compared with paracancerous tissues or normal colon tissues (P < 0.05). Downregulated expression of FLNa and upregulated expression of MMP-9 and Ets-1 were closely correlated with tumor size, Dukes staging, degree of differentiation and the recurrence and metastasis after surgery (P < 0.05). In adjacent tissues and tumor tissues, the expression of MMP-9 was positively correlated with Ets-1 (P < 0.05) while negative relationship was identified between MMP-9and FLNa (P < 0.05). Conclusion Upregulation of MMP-9 and Ets-1 and downregulation of FLNa in colon cancer tissues are closely correlated with recurrence and metastasis of colon cancer.