Objective: To investigate the telomerase activity in human colorectal carcinoma and tumor-adjacent tissue and to investigate the possibility of telomerase as tumor biological marker.
Methods: A total of 60 human colorectal tissue specimens, comprising 37 carcinomas, 3 benign lesions and 20 tumor-adjacent tissue specimens were examined for telomerase activity by telomeric repeat amplification protocol(TRAP) assay.
Results: No telomerase activity in 20 tumor-adjacent tissues and 3 benign lesions was detected. However, of 37 colorectal carcinoma specimens, 35 were positive for telomerase activity with a 94.6% positive rate.
Conclusion: The data suggest that telomerase is a tumor specific gene marker, and may play an important role in early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal carcinomas.