As MT1-MMP, MMP-1 and MMP-3 have all been implicated in the processes involved in human breast cancer, this study utilised HBC cell lines both in culture and grown as xenografts in nude mice, to investigate gene expression changes of MT1-MMP, MMP-1 and MMP-3 in vitro and in vivo using IS-RT-PCR. This evidence concerns the gene MMP3 and breast carcinoma.