[The Expression of hTERT mRNA and p16 Protein in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.].
BACKGROUND
hTERT and p16 are involved in oncogenesis and development of tumor. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and p16 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).


METHODS
The quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry were applied to detect the hTERT and p16 in tissue of 21 cases of lung benign diseases and 117 of non-small cell lung cancer and adjacent tissues, respectively.


RESULTS
hTERT mRNA levels from NSCLC in 117 patients and normal lung tissue in 21 normal controls were 2.937+/-0.836 and 2.042+/-0.378, respectively (t=-5.242, P<0.01). Expression of p16 protein was observed in 85.7% of normal tissues, while 47.9% of lung cancer tissues showed p16 protein expression (P=0.004). The expression of hTERT mRNA was significantly correlated with the histology (P<0.05); the expression of p16 protein was significantly correlated with the clinical stage, degree of differentiation and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The significant correlation between the expression of hTERT and p16 (P<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The hTERT may be useful in clinical diagnosis of NSCLC. Expression of hTERT and p16 is related to the carcinogenesis and development of NSCLC.
Xian
Lei
L
Department of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, China.
Zhou
Huafu
H
Zhang
Xinghua
X
Xue
Bangde
B
Guo
Jianji
J
Feng
Xu
X