In addition, since it has been shown that the overexpression of telomerase in cancer cells increases the level of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), which is directly involved in the invasion process (17), we observed that GRN163L decreased MMP-2 expression, suggesting that GRN163L exerts some of its anticancer effects in a telomere-independent manner. This evidence concerns the gene MMP2 and cancer.