Department of Pathology, St. Vincent's Hospital, TheCatholic University of Korea, Suwon, Korea.sjkang@wincent.cuk.ac.kr
Published online: December 31, 2003.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Telomerase is an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase that synthesizes TTAGGG telomeric DNA onto chromosome ends to compensate for sequence loss during DNA replication. It has been detected in 85~90% of all primary human cancers, implicating that its apparent reactivation in tumors may play a role in the tumorigenic process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate telomerase activity in stomach cancer, and to determine whether methacarn-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues can replace frozen tissue sections for the telomerase (TRAP) assay. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Frozen and corresponding methacarn-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples were obtained from 51 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma and analyzed for telomerase activity by using a TRAPeze ELISA kit. RESULTS: Telomerase activity was detected in 37 (73%) frozen samples, and in 13 (25%) methacarn-fixed paraffin blocks. Telomerase activity was well correlated with depth of invasion (p=.037) and tumor differentiation (p=.022). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that reactivated telomerase may play a significant role in the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer and may reflect the malignant potential of the tumor. It is noteworthy that methacarn- fixed tissue cannot as yet substitute for the frozen tissue in the TRAP assay.
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