Consistent with this phenotype, further upregulation of invasion-related proteins, such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2, MMP-9, MMP-12), secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), allowed the cancer cells to invade into surrounding brain areas in the in vivo glioblastoma xenograft model. Here, MMP9 is linked to glioblastoma.