Implication of telomere length as a proliferation-associated marker in schwannomas.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Some schwannomas in the central nervous system may demonstrate relatively aggressive behavior in pathological findings and clinical course. We evaluate the diagnostic values of telomerase activity and telomere length in the clinicopathological behavior of schwannomas.

METHODS

Thirty surgical specimens from intracranial and intraspinal schwannomas were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for telomerase activity and terminal restriction fragments (TRFs) using Southern blot for telomere length. Proliferative indices were also studied.

RESULTS

Telomerase activity could not be detected in all schwannomas. Elongated telomere length (mean 17,101 +/- 259 bp) was found in four specimens (13.3%). Three of these four were found to have mitotic figures, high vascularity, cellularity, and pleomorphism in the pathological findings. The proliferative indices (35) showed correlative high values. One patient died of this disease, and one was found to have recurrence at follow-up evaluation. Those that displayed benign histopathological pictures showed relatively short telomere length (8,866 +/- 271 base pairs) and low proliferative indices (21). These is a significant difference between these two groups (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Elongation of telomere length in schwannomas appears to predict aggressive clinicopathological behavior.