Clinical implications of telomerase activity in resected hepatocellular carcinoma

This study investigated the relationship of telomerase activity to its clinical implications in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Telomerase activity was quantatively examined by a non-radioisotope quantitative system based on a TRAP-eze (ONCOR) in 42 HCC nodules and 40 non-cancerous liver tissue adjacent to the HCC nodules, obtained by surgical resection. Telomerase activity was confirmed in 37 HCC nodules (88.1%), being more statistically intense in de-differentiated tumors (p<0.01). Telomerase activity was positive in 9 cases (22.5%) of non-cancerous liver tissue and its activation was closely associated with the biologically malignant potential of the tumor itself such as the histological grade, portal vascular invasion, and intrahepatic metastasis (p<0. 05). The disease-free survival rate with its activity was also statistically lower than that without its activity of the non-cancerous tissue (p<0.01). These results indicate that telomerase may be a useful marker of biological characteristics in HCC and may lead to more effective surgical procedures.