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Telomerase activity in the female reproductive tract and neoplasms
Y Yokoyama1, Y Takahashi, A Shinohara
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gifu University School of Medicine, Japan.
Objective:
To study a possible utility of telomerase determination for cancer diagnosis.
Methods:
In a total of 227 tissue samples comprising 114 normal tissues of the reproductive age, 10 fallopian tubes of the postmenopausal age, and 103 neoplastic tissues from female reproductive tracts, telomerase activity was determined. Using densitometrical analysis, telomerase activity was compared between carcinoma tissues and normal counterparts.
Results:
A total of 97.3% (71/73) of cancer samples comprising ovarian carcinoma, endometrial carcinoma, and epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix and 89.5% (77/86) of the epithelia of the reproductive-aged uterus and fallopian tube showed telomerase activity. The epithelia of the fallopian tube of reproductive age showed significantly higher frequency of positivity (16/18) than the postmenopausal epithelia of the tube (3/10). No difference in telomerase activity was found between endometrial carcinomas and normal proliferative endometria. A significantly higher activity was found in ovarian epithelial carcinoma and epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix than in normal counterparts, although 92% (11/12) of the normal exocervix and 30% (3/10) of the normal ovary showed telomerase activity.
Conclusions:
Most epithelia of the female reproductive tract maintain telomerase activity during the reproductive age. Therefore, the detection of malignancies by telomerase determination may be feasible in ovarian carcinoma and epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix, but requires accurate quantification of telomerase activity.