This study showed that the VEGF and MMP-2 levels after treatment were obviously lower in EG than in CG (P < 0.001), suggesting that this therapeutic schedule can significantly reduce the VEGF and MMP-2 levels in LC patients undergoing chemotherapy, possibly because elemene injection with the effect of anti-angiogenesis can effectively inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration of tumor cells (24). This evidence concerns the gene MMP2 and laryngotracheoesophageal cleft.