Telomeres in colorectal carcinoma tissue were significantly shorter compared with adjacent normal mucosa as an indication for extensive cell proliferation. The correlation with tumor stage and patient survival suggest that hTERT-mediated telomere stabilization may be critical for progression and prognosis of colorectal carcinoma.

CK-20 RT-PCR in peritumoral histopathologic tumor-free (pN0) lymph nodes of colorectal cancer is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. Additional CK-20 IHC improves the specificity and prognostic value of RT-PCR for cancer-related death.

CK-20 RT-PCR in peritumoral histopathologic tumor-free (pN0) lymph nodes of colorectal cancer is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. Additional CK-20 IHC improves the specificity and prognostic value of RT-PCR for cancer-related death.

BACKGROUND The stabilization of telomere lengths by telomerase activation is an important step in carcinogenesis and cell immortalization. Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is the catalytic subunit of this enzyme. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of real‐time reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) analysis for the quantification of hTERT in tumor and nontumorous tissue samples. METHODS Matched samples of tumor and adjacent nontumorous mucosa samples from 57 patients with completely resected colorectal carcinoma (International Union Against Cancer Stage I–IV) who underwent complete resection (R0) were quantified for hTERT mRNA expression using real‐time RT‐PCR. The expression levels were correlated with histopathologic findings and with survival. The median follow‐up was 76 months. RESULTS hTERT mRNA was expressed in all tumor samples and in all samples of adjacent mucosa. In 12 patients (21%), there was higher hTERT expression in tumor samples compared with nontumorous samples. Compared with tumor samples, the expression of hTERT in samples of nontumorous mucosa decreased with age (P = 0.06). hTERT mRNA expression in both tumor tissue and adjacent mucosa was correlated significantly with the histologic grade of colorectal carcinoma (P < 0.04 and P < 0.05, respectively). Patients with hTERT expression in tumor tissue in relation to the adjacent mucosa of > 0.57 had a significantly poorer overall survival compared with patients with lower hTERT ratios (P < 0.02). In addition to the established prognostic factor lymphatic vessel invasion, the hTERT ratio proved to be of independent prognostic value (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The prognostic potential of hTERT in patients with colorectal carcinoma and the correlation of hTERT with tumor grade underlines the role of hTERT as a molecular marker for biologic tumor staging. Cancer 2002;95:2103–11. © 2002 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.10939

No abstract

No abstract