title: Change of telomerase activity in peripheral whole blood of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients before and after surgery: a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate telomerase activity in peripheral whole blood from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients as a biomarker for diagnosis of HNSCC or detection of recurrence during follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS Telomerase activity was measured from peripheral whole blood extracts by telomerase repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) in HNSCC patients before and after surgery and in a control group. Sixty-two HNSCC patients and 42 control subjects were included. RESULTS Telomerase activity was found in 41 out of 62 (66.1%) HNSCC patients before surgery and in 8 out of 42 (19.0%) controls (p<0.001). Among 41 HNSCC patients who showed positive telomerase activity before surgery, 32 (78.1%) showed a conversion of telomerase activity to negative after surgery. In follow-up, 6 out of 8 (75%) showed conversion of telomerase activity from negative to positive after recurrence. Telomerase activity was changed to negative in 4 out of 6 (66%) recurred patients with positive telomerase activity after second surgery. CONCLUSION The telomerase activity in peripheral whole blood extracts of HNSCC patients might be a useful biomarker for detecting recurrence after treatment. Further study with larger sample size using a more sensitive detection method of telomerase activity is necessary to verify these results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tae
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Y B
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Ji
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000601:surgery; D018307:Neoplasms, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000601:surgery; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D019098:Telomerase / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C509186:TERT protein, human; D019098:Telomerase