Clinical significance of telomerase activity in basal cell carcinomas and in tumour-free surgical margins.
To distinguish the infiltrative from the non-infiltrative basal cell carcinoma (BCC), cell cycle markers are being used to supplement histopathological assessment, and proliferation markers are proving particularly useful. A successful radical therapeutic intervention depends on a clear histopathological diagnosis, especially for the tumour margins. For this purpose we investigated whether proof of telomerase activation is a suitable adjunctive molecular marker. We were also interested in the telomerase activity (TA) of BCC-free margin tissues as a prognostic parameter of relapse. Using PCR-ELISA kits, we found TA in 26/30 (87%) BCC tissues and in 8/25 (32%) of the tumour-free surgical margin tissues. Telomerase levels and the incidence of telomerase-positive tumour tissues are not always associated with positive p53 immunoreactive scores in BCC tissues. But telomerase levels correlate significantly with p53 expression levels. In the Kaplan-Meier curve, patients with telomerase-positive tumour-free surgical margin tissues showed significantly shorter relapse-free periods than patients with telomerase-negative tumour-free margin tissues.
Fabricius
Eva-Maria
EM
Clinic for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Campus Virchow Hospital, Medical Faculty of the Humboldt University of Berlin, Charité, Germany. eva-maria.fabricius@charite.de
Bezeluk
Aleksej
A
Kruse-Boitschenko
Ute
U
Wildner
Gustav-Paul
GP
Klein
Martin
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000601:surgery; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002455:Cell Division; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000601:surgery; D019098:Telomerase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism
D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D019098:Telomerase