BACKGROUND: It is well known that telomerase activity is expressed in cancer cells. A recent study has revealed that weak telomerase activity was also detected in normal cells. Telomerase activity is thus thought to be useful as a diagnostic biomarker. In the present study, we studied the difference in telomerase activity between cancer tissue and noncancerous epithelium tissue of the esophagus. METHODS: One hundred and thirty specimens of esophageal cancer tissue were collected at surgery and analyzed in a telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay. Telomerase was expressed quantitatively as the total product generated (TPG) value. RESULTS: Telomerase activity was detected in all esophageal cancer tissues and in 87% of the noncancerous epithelium specimens. The mean TPG values in the cancer tissue and the noncancerous epithelium specimens were 49.5 +/- 39.5 (mean +/- 1 SD) and 11.5 +/- 5.9, respectively, with a significant difference (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The telomerase activity in esophageal cancers was significantly higher than that in the noncancerous epithelium. From the mean value plus 1 SD for noncancerous epithelium, the cutoff value was set at 17.4 as an esophageal cancer-specific diagnostic marker. This cutoff value showed a high predictive value, specificity, and sensitivity, of greater than 80% for each category. These results suggest that this cutoff value could be a useful biomarker for the detection of esophageal carcinoma.
BACKGROUND: It is well known that telomerase activity is expressed in cancer cells. A recent study has revealed that weak telomerase activity was also detected in normal cells. Telomerase activity is thus thought to be useful as a diagnostic biomarker. In the present study, we studied the difference in telomerase activity between cancer tissue and noncancerous epithelium tissue of the esophagus. METHODS: One hundred and thirty specimens of esophageal cancer tissue were collected at surgery and analyzed in a telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay. Telomerase was expressed quantitatively as the total product generated (TPG) value. RESULTS: Telomerase activity was detected in all esophageal cancer tissues and in 87% of the noncancerous epithelium specimens. The mean TPG values in the cancer tissue and the noncancerous epithelium specimens were 49.5 +/- 39.5 (mean +/- 1 SD) and 11.5 +/- 5.9, respectively, with a significant difference (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The telomerase activity in esophageal cancers was significantly higher than that in the noncancerous epithelium. From the mean value plus 1 SD for noncancerous epithelium, the cutoff value was set at 17.4 as an esophageal cancer-specific diagnostic marker. This cutoff value showed a high predictive value, specificity, and sensitivity, of greater than 80% for each category. These results suggest that this cutoff value could be a useful biomarker for the detection of esophageal carcinoma.
Authors: Inna L Botchkina; David E Rivadeneira; Kevin Watkins; Martin S Karpeh; Galina I Botchkina Journal: Mol Med Date: 2008 Jan-Feb Impact factor: 6.354