Prediction of survival in stage I lung carcinoma patients by telomerase function evaluation

Telomerase activity and telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression are elevated in human malignancies. We have investigated telomerase activity measured by the telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay and hTERT levels by real-time RT-PCR in stage I non-small-cell lung carcinomas. The purposes of our study included the comparison of these two techniques in the assessment of telomerase function and the evaluation of their prognostic significance. Telomerase activity and hTERT levels were determined in 90 stage I non-small-cell lung carcinoma patients, using TRAP assay and real-time RT-PCR, respectively. Variables were analyzed by the chi(2) and Fisher exact tests. Survival was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate analysis was performed with the Cox's proportional hazards model. Telomerase activity was elevated in 60 (67%) carcinomas. hTERT was elevated in 43 (48%) carcinomas. Only 21 (23%) tumors had low telomerase function by both TRAP and hTERT expression levels. Telomerase activity and hTERT were significantly correlated (p = 0.017), although 35 cases displayed discordant results. Both telomerase activity and hTERT levels were significantly associated with poor patient overall and disease-free survival (p = 0.019 and p = 0.018 for TRAP, and p = 0.011 and p = 0.012 for hTERT, respectively). Among the 21 patients with tumors displaying low telomerase function, defined by both TRAP and hTERT expression levels, only one succumbed to the disease (p = 0.0053). Our results suggest that the two techniques used in this study evaluate separate aspects of telomerase function and their combination provides powerful prognostic information in lung cancer patients.