Levels of EGF, CAL, MMP-7 and MMP-9 resulted different when comparing NSCLC and controls (Mann-Whitney U test, P = 0.002 for EGF, CAL and MMP-9, P = 0.048 for MMP-7), but not for SCLC (Mann-Whitney U test, P = 0.798 for EGF and MMP-9, P = 0.112 for CAL and P = 0.056 for MMP-7). Here, MMP9 is linked to non-small cell lung carcinoma.