Objective  This study evaluates the serum and urine matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9) for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

  Methods  A total of 59 patients with ovarian cancer, 52 patients with benign ovarian tumor, and 40 healthy controls were recruited in this study.The serum and urine levels of MMP-9 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods.

  Results  The serum and urine levels of MMP-9 in the malignant group were significantly higher than those in the benign and healthy control groups(P < 0.01).Consequently, the serum and urine levels of MMP-9 in the benign group were similar with those of the healthy control group(P > 0.05).The receiver operating characteristic curves of serum and urine MMP-9 were 0.831 and 0.794, respectively.The combined detection of serum MMP-9 and cancer antigen 125 reached a high sensitivity of 93.5% and a specificity of 94.8%.

  Conclusion  MMP-9 may be closely associated with the progression of ovarian cancer.Serum and urine MMP-9 may be helpful in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer.