Gelatin zymography assays clearly showed that tumor MMP2 activity was stronger in the palliative resection group (Figure 2A1); the normalized optical density of the band presenting MMP2 activity was significantly elevated (1.4-fold, P < 0.01, Figure 2A2), in accord with up-regulation of the MMP2 protein level in the palliative resection group, that is, 73.7 ± 8.0 ng/mg versus 57.9 ± 10.1 ng/mg (P < 0.01, Figure 2A3). Here, MMP2 is linked to neoplasm.