title: Telomerase activity is not a prognostic factor in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
abstract: We measured telomerase activity (TA) in bone marrow samples from 214 patients with CLL and correlated it with patients' characteristics and survival. In >50% of cases (126/214; 59%) no detectable TA was found. There was no difference in TA between previously treated (n = 153) and untreated (n = 61) patients (P = 0.4), or patients with various Rai (0-IV) stages (P = 0.85). TA correlated significantly with white blood cell and lymphocyte count (P = 0.02 and 0.01, respectively) but not with bone marrow cellularity, beta2-microglobulin (beta2M), or other patient characteristics. Patients who had no TA had slightly lower beta2M and lower lymphocyte counts (P = 0.5 and 0.04, respectively) as compared with patients with detectable TA. However, there was no correlation between TA and survival. This data suggests that TA may not play a significant role in the clinical behavior of CLL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Leukemia, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, The University of Texas, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Srdan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verstovsek
authors.forename: Francis J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Giles
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Faderl
authors.forename: Hagop M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kantarjian
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Keating
authors.forename: Maher
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Albitar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D006801:Humans; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000401:mortality; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011379:Prognosis; D019098:Telomerase / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin; D019098:Telomerase