Thyroid carcinoma (TC) is the most common endocrine malignancy, while papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of well-differentiated thyroid cancer, accounting for 80–85% of thyroid malignancies [
1]. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of high-frequency ultrasound diagnostic technology and the wide application of ultrasound-guided puncture technology, the detection rate of PTC has increased significantly year by year [
2]. Although the data suggest a 5-year survival more significant than 97% and 10-year survival of 85% in PTC patients, the odds of relapse at 10 years are about 15% and, at 27 years, about 28% after first treatment [
3]. Although the majority of papillary thyroid carcinoma has a good prognosis, factors such as advanced age, male gender, extrathyroidal extension, lymph node or distant metastasis, and high tumour stage have been considered to be poor prognostic factors for many years [
4]. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc-containing endopeptidases from the metzincin family of proteases. MMPs have various physiological functions, which can degrade extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and glycoproteins, regulate cytokines and growth factors, and participate in embryonic development [
5]. The mechanism of action of overexpressed matrix metalloproteinases in malignant tumours is complex and varied. For several years, it has been suggested that the ECM-degrading function of MMPs promotes metastasis and invasion of malignant tumour cells, allowing malignant tumour cells to escape into the surrounding tissues and blood supply [
6]. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), a member of the MMP family, is a critical enzyme to degrade the extracellular matrix. Due to its proteolytic activity, through regulating migration, cancer cell epithelial-mesenchymal transformation, and survival, inducing an immune response, angiogenesis, and the formation of tumour microenvironment plays an essential role in tumourigenesis [
7]; moreover, extensive in vitro experiments and in vivo analysis based on animal models have confirmed the role of MMP-9 in tumour development, and much subsequent work has also provided strong evidence for an association between MMP-9 expression and tumour aggressiveness. High expression levels of MMP-9 are associated with the prognosis, diagnosis, and clinical pathology of malignant tumours, such as breast cancer [
8], ovarian cancer [
9], carcinoma of the lungs [
10], and colorectal cancer [
11].
Many studies have been published to evaluate the effect of MMP-9 overexpression on clinicopathological features in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma, such as age, gender, LNM, and TNM stage, but the results of these studies have been inconsistent and contradictory. To more accurately estimate the association between MMP-9 overexpression and clinicopathological features in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma, we performed a meta-analysis of studies published up to November 2022.