title: [Clinical significance of telomerase activity in lung cancer].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To evaluate the clinical significance of telomerase activity in lung cancer and to investigate the possibility of telomerase as cancer marker for lung cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The activity of telomerase was investigated by TRAP-PCR-ELISA in lung cancer tissues and corresponding adjacent noncancerous tissues obtained from resected specimens of 48 patients with lung cancer and 42 specimens of benign pulmonary lesions were examined simultaneously.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Telomerase activity was detected in 42 (87.5%) of the 48 tumors and only 4 (8.3%) of the 48 adjacent noncancerous lung tissue samples (Chi-Square=13.029, P < 0.01), but in none of 42 specimens of benign pulmonary lesions (Chi-Square=14.016, P < 0.01). Correlation with pathological parameters showed that the expression of telomerase activity was associated with lymph node metastasis (93.5% vs 76.4% , Chi-Square=63.511, P < 0.01), but not with histological type, location and differenciated grade of tumor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Telomerase activation correlates with the carcinogenesis and aggressiveness of lung cancer. Telomerase might be one of the important diagnostic and prognostic factors in patients with lung cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Xingqiao Hospital of The Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, P.R.China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Zubin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jiaxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Guoqiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang