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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Utilizing Murine Inducible Telomerase Alleles in the Studies of Tissue Degeneration/Regeneration and Cancer
Published on: April 13, 2015
Telomerase activity in giant cell tumors of bone
Toshihiro Matsuo1, Eiso Hiyama, Takashi Sugita
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan. tomatsuo@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Background:
A giant cell tumor of bone (GCT) is a histologically benign neoplasma that has an unpredictable pattern of biological aggressiveness. In the present study, we investigated whether there was a correlation between telomere length or the levels of telomerase activity and other clinical features of GCTs, for the possible use of these factors as parameters of aggressiveness or prognosis.
Methods:
In 16 surgically resected GCTs specimens, telomere length was assessed by terminal restriction fragments by Southern blot analysis. Telomerase activity was measured by a semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction-based telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay.
Results:
Telomere length reduction was observed in 69% of the GCT samples. The telomere lengths of tumors were significantly shorter than those of normal tissue (P = .008). The mean telomere length of grade 3 tumors was significantly shorter than those of grade 1 and 2 tumors (P = .038). Telomerase activity was detected in 81% of tumor samples. The level of telomerase activity in tumors with local recurrence was significantly higher than in tumors without local recurrence (P = .011).
Conclusions:
These results suggest that telomere length correlates with roentgenographic grade as a result of the frequency of cell division, and high telomerase activity indicates the aggressiveness of GCTs.
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