MMP-2 serum concentrations predict mortality in hemodialysis patients: a 5-year cohort study

We evaluated the ability of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, myeloperoxidase, osteopontin and stromal cell-derived factor 1 to predict mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. One hundred forty HD patients were enrolled and followed from December 2007 until December 2012. At the end of this 5-year period, data were compared between the patients who were alive and those who had died. The patients who alive were younger (56 vs. 63y), with lower frequency of diabetes mellitus (34.34% vs. 58.53%), higher concentrations of albumin (4.13 vs. 3.91mg/dl) and lower concentrations of MMP-2 (430.76 vs. 521.59ng/ml). Multivariate analysis showed that age (HR=1.03, p=0.02), diabetes mellitus (HR=2.395, p=0.012), albumin (HR=0.475, p=0.047) and MMP-2 (HR=1.003, p=0.005) were independent factors predicting mortality in HD patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that albumin (AUC=0.628, p=0.027) and MMP-2 (AUC=0.643, p=0.004) had a similar ability (p=0.76) to predict survival of HD patients. Compared with albumin, serum MMP-2 is a non-inferior prognostic marker for predicting the survival of HD patients. •A retrospective cohort study investigated the role of MMP-2 in predicting mortality in hemodialysis patients.•Albumin is a powerful mortality predictor in hemodialysis patients.•Our result showed MMP-2 is independently associated with mortality in hemodialysis patients.•Compared with albumin, MMP-2 is a non-inferior prognostic marker for predicting the survival of HD patients.