Yokoyama Y, Takahashi Y, Shinohara A, Lian Z, Tamaya T
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gifu University School of Medicine, Japan.
Gynecol Oncol. 1998 Feb;68(2):145-9. doi: 10.1006/gyno.1997.4921.
To study a possible utility of telomerase determination for cancer diagnosis.
In a total of 227 tissue samples comprising 114 normal tissues of the reproductive age, 10 fallopian tubes of the postmenopausal age, and 103 neoplastic tissues from female reproductive tracts, telomerase activity was determined. Using densitometrical analysis, telomerase activity was compared between carcinoma tissues and normal counterparts.
A total of 97.3% (71/73) of cancer samples comprising ovarian carcinoma, endometrial carcinoma, and epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix and 89.5% (77/86) of the epithelia of the reproductive-aged uterus and fallopian tube showed telomerase activity. The epithelia of the fallopian tube of reproductive age showed significantly higher frequency of positivity (16/18) than the postmenopausal epithelia of the tube (3/10). No difference in telomerase activity was found between endometrial carcinomas and normal proliferative endometria. A significantly higher activity was found in ovarian epithelial carcinoma and epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix than in normal counterparts, although 92% (11/12) of the normal exocervix and 30% (3/10) of the normal ovary showed telomerase activity.
Most epithelia of the female reproductive tract maintain telomerase activity during the reproductive age. Therefore, the detection of malignancies by telomerase determination may be feasible in ovarian carcinoma and epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix, but requires accurate quantification of telomerase activity.
研究端粒酶检测在癌症诊断中的潜在应用价值。
对总共227份组织样本进行端粒酶活性检测，其中包括114份育龄期正常组织、10份绝经后年龄的输卵管组织以及103份女性生殖道肿瘤组织。采用光密度分析方法，比较癌组织与其正常对照组织之间的端粒酶活性。
在包括卵巢癌、子宫内膜癌和宫颈表皮样癌的癌组织样本中，97.3%（71/73）显示端粒酶活性；在育龄期子宫和输卵管上皮组织中，89.5%（77/86）显示端粒酶活性。育龄期输卵管上皮的阳性频率（16/18）显著高于绝经后输卵管上皮（3/10）。子宫内膜癌与正常增殖期子宫内膜之间未发现端粒酶活性差异。卵巢上皮癌和宫颈表皮样癌的端粒酶活性显著高于其正常对照组织，尽管92%（11/12）的宫颈外正常组织和30%（3/10）的正常卵巢显示端粒酶活性。
女性生殖道的大多数上皮组织在育龄期维持端粒酶活性。因此，通过检测端粒酶来诊断卵巢癌和宫颈表皮样癌可能是可行的，但需要准确量化端粒酶活性。
