头颈部鳞癌及癌旁组织端粒酶活性检测

目的：研究原发头颈部鳞癌及相关癌旁组织中端粒酶活性表达，探讨春作为头颈部鳞癌分子生物学标志物的可能性。方法：采用ＴＲＡＰ－ＰＣＲ－ＥＬＩＳＡ，对３２例原发头颈部鳞癌及１５例癌旁组织进行端粒酶活性检测。结果：３２例原发头颈部鳞癌中，２７例端粒酶活化，阳性率为８４．４％；１５例癌旁组织中５例端粒酶活化，阳性率为３３．３％。有淋巴结累及者端粒酶阳性率（８６．７％）高于无淋巴结累及者（８２．４％），低分化

Telomerase activity in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and adjacent tissues

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the telomerase activity in human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and their adjacent tissues and to explore its possibility of being tumor biological marker. METHOD: Thirty-two patient samples of primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and 15 adjacent tissues were assayed using TRA-PCR-ELISA for detection of telomerase activity. RESULT: Twenty-seven of 32 (84.4%) cancer samples and 5 of 15 (33.3%) adjacent samples were telomerase positive (P < 0.05, Chi-Square Test). The frequency of telomerase activation was lower in cancer without lymph node involvement (82.4%) than that with lymph node involvement(86.7%), but the difference has no statistical significance. Detection rate of telomerase activity in poor grading cancer (90%) is higher than that in moderate and high differentiation cancer (81.8%), although no statistical significance. No obvious correlation was found between the telomerase activity and the other clinical parameters such as primary site and staging. CONCLUSION: The finding of telomerase activity in 84.4% of primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma samples is consistent with the concept of telomerase playing a key role in tumorigenesis. Further study is needed to determine the usefulness of this enzyme as a new molecular marker.