MMP11 and neoplasm: Univariate analysis using Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that advanced clinical stage (p< 0.001), large tumor size (p=0.002), positive lymph node metastasis (p< 0.001), worse grade of differentiation (p=0.027) and strong expression of MMP-11 (p=0.010) were correlated with a poor overall survival of patients with OSCC (Table 3).