MMP9 and cancer: MMP-2 and MMP-8 are expressed as NC cells exit the neural tube and begin migrating60,61 and are required for NC cell migration.62,63 Cancer cells also use MMPs for degradation of ECM during EMT and migration.66 As with NC cells, MMP-2 enhances cancer cell migration in vitro,67 in an orthotopic mouse model of breast cancer,68 and is associated with a decrease in disease-free survival in human prostate69 and non-small cell lung cancer patients.70 There is also evidence that MMP-2, along with MMP-9 and MMP-14, have a role in promoting invasion and angiogenesis in mice.71