Bockelman C, et al. - Researchers assessed if matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8, -9, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 have a prognostic role in colorectal cancer (CRC) and whether these have an association with inflammation. Study participants included colorectal cancer patients and controls undergoing surgery at Helsinki University Hospital in Finland from 1998–2011. Using the Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman rank correlation tests, they carried out association and correlation analyses. Using the Kaplan-Meier method, they constructed survival curves and compared those with the log-rank test. CRC patients with bad prognosis were identified by MMP-8 and TIMP-1 in serum, but not MMP-9. A possible association of MMP-8 and TIMP-1 with poor prognosis was observed among patients exhibiting no systemic inflammatory response.