BACKGROUND: Lack of understanding of interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) hinders the early and accurate identification of these devastating diseases. Current clinical tools limitations highlight the need to complement them with accessible and non-invasive methods. Accordingly, we focused on identifying useful matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) as new biomarkers with clinical value in the diagnosis and prognosis of RA-ILD METHODS: Peripheral blood was collected from patients with RA-ILD RESULTS: Concerning early connective tissue disease (CTD)-ILD CONCLUSIONS: MMPs and TIMPs form combinatorial biomarker signatures with clinical value for non-invasive, early, and accurate diagnosis of RA-ILD