Telomerase activity in fine needle aspiration biopsy samples: application to diagnosis of human thyroid carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of thyroid follicular carcinoma by fine needle aspiration biopsy is a well known problem in thyroid pathology. METHODS: We evaluated telomerase activity (TA) in 85 fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) samples from patients with thyroid nodules. Surgery samples from patients with tumor or follicular adenomas were also analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty of the FNAB samples corresponded to carcinomas and were positive to telomerase assay (TA >10 Units). Among them, 4 follicular carcinomas and 1 papillary carcinoma were labeled as indeterminate by FNAB cytological examination. Four percent false positive cases and no false negative cases for TA in FNABs were reported. FNAB samples from follicular adenomas were diagnosed as indeterminate by cytological examination, but they showed no detectable TA. Tumor tissues from patients with follicular or papillary thyroid carcinomas presented TA >10 Units, whereas follicular adenoma tissues (benign nodules) showed no TA. CONCLUSION: Our results showed a good correlation between TA in FNAB samples and tumor/nodule thyroid tissue. This suggested that use of TA as a biological marker of malignancy might be a useful tool in the diagnosis of follicular thyroid carcinomas or follicular thyroid adenomas using FNAB samples.