In contrast to the studies by Brun et al [33] and by Sakata et al [32], which point to a higher TIMP-1 protein expression in benign and borderline tumours compared to invasive tumours, diagnostic reports have almost all shown higher levels of TIMP-1 in plasma or serum from invasive malignant tumours compared to benign or borderline tumours [17-19]. Here, TIMP1 is linked to cancer.