MMP9 and neoplasm: To test this, we conducted a differential gene expression analysis (DGEA) followed by pathway enrichment analysis using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data from baseline tumor biopsies obtained from the FAS patients (n = 21, see Figure S3; Table S9) Analysis of survival at 12 months (OS-12) revealed that long survivors (>12 months) exhibited overexpression of genes involved in immune-modulatory pathways (S100A4 and IL6), and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling (MMP2, MMP9, and COL15A1) (Figure 3E).