Objective: To study the usefulness of detection of telomerase activity in the diagnosis of malignant tumors.
Methods: Modified telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) was employed to examine telomerase activity in 283 malignant tumor tissues, 42 adjacent tissues and 61 benign tumor tissues.
Results: Of the 283 malignant tumors and 42 adjacent tissues, telomerase was positive in 264 (93.3%) and 11 (26.1%), respectively. Only 4 of the 62 (6.6%) benign tumors were telomerase positive.
Conclusion: Telomerase activity may be used as tumor marker in the diagnosis of malignant tumors.