Lam K Y, Lo C Y, Fan S T, Luk J M
Department of Pathology, University of Hong Kong Medical Center, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, SAR.
Mol Pathol. 2000 Jun;53(3):133-6. doi: 10.1136/mp.53.3.133.
Telomerase activation is known to be a common event in human cancer and may be a useful marker for malignancy. In general, the histological features of pancreatic endocrine tumours cannot be used to determine their malignant potential. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of testing telomerase activity in pancreatic endocrine tumours.
Prospectively collected fresh frozen tissue specimens from 10 patients with pancreatic endocrine tumours (nine insulinomas, one adrenocorticotrophin producing pancreatic endocrine tumour) were examined by a highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based telomerase repeat protocol (TRAP).
Of the 10 pancreatic endocrine tumours, three had telomerase activity. The positive cases included two frankly malignant tumours with liver metastases and one pancreatic endocrine tumour occurring in the setting of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1. The latter had an infiltrative border. Vascular and perineural tumour infiltration was noted. In the two malignant pancreatic endocrine tumours with liver metastases, telomerase activity was noted in the tumour and the adjacent morphologically non-neoplastic pancreas.
To our knowledge, this is the first report of the role of telomerase activity in pancreatic endocrine tumours. Telomerase activity might be useful for distinguishing between benign and malignant pancreatic endocrine tumours.
端粒酶激活在人类癌症中是常见事件，可能是恶性肿瘤的一个有用标志物。一般而言，胰腺内分泌肿瘤的组织学特征无法用于确定其恶性潜能。本研究的目的是探讨检测端粒酶活性在胰腺内分泌肿瘤中的作用。
对前瞻性收集的10例胰腺内分泌肿瘤患者（9例胰岛素瘤，1例产生促肾上腺皮质激素的胰腺内分泌肿瘤）的新鲜冷冻组织标本，采用基于高灵敏度聚合酶链反应（PCR）的端粒酶重复序列扩增法（TRAP）进行检测。
10例胰腺内分泌肿瘤中，3例具有端粒酶活性。阳性病例包括2例伴有肝转移的明显恶性肿瘤和1例发生于1型多发性内分泌腺瘤病背景下的胰腺内分泌肿瘤。后者具有浸润性边界，可见肿瘤血管浸润和神经周围浸润。在2例伴有肝转移的恶性胰腺内分泌肿瘤中，肿瘤及相邻形态学上无肿瘤的胰腺均检测到端粒酶活性。
据我们所知，这是关于端粒酶活性在胰腺内分泌肿瘤中作用的首次报道。端粒酶活性可能有助于区分良性和恶性胰腺内分泌肿瘤。
