Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic value of telomerase expression in intracranial tumours.
Methods: 98 surgical specimens from different neoplasms were analysed by the telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) and the presence of telomerase compared with the histological diagnosis and the proliferation index.
Results: A high degree of positivity for telomerase activity was found in glioblastomas and atypical/anaplastic meningiomas. Telomerase activity was poorly detected in anaplastic astrocytomas.
Conclusions: The TRAP assay seems to be a valuable index for identifying meningeal tumours with aggressive behaviour.