Clinical Cancer Research, Vol 2, Issue 11 1895-1900, Copyright © 1996 by American Association for Cancer Research

ARTICLES

Telomerase activity in human laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas

S Hohaus, S Cavallo, A Bellacosa, M Genuardi, J Galli, G Cadoni, G Almadori, L Lauriola, S Litwin, M Maurizi and G Neri
Institutes of Medical Genetics, Otorhinolaryngology and Pathology, Universita Cattolica S. Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy.

The activation of telomerase has been shown to be an important step during tumorigenesis in a variety of malignancies and is associated with characteristics of cellular immortality, such as indefinite proliferative potential. We studied telomerase activity in a series of human laryngeal carcinomas. Thirty-six tumors from 35 patients were studied using a sensitive PCR-based technique, the telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay. Telomerase activity was present in 32 tumors (89%), and the level of activity correlated with the stage of disease. In two of four telomerase-negative tumors, we found evidence of an inhibitor of telomerase activity. In many cases, samples of mucosa surrounding the tumor were also studied, and telomerase could be detected in 16 of 21 patients. For this reason, we proceeded to perform a topographical analysis that demonstrated a pattern of telomerase activity suggestive of a spread of telomerase-positive cells. In conclusion, these data indicate that telomerase activation is important for laryngeal carcinogenesis and that telomerase assay might be a valuable addition to determine the spread of the disease.

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