title: Immunohistochemical expression of telomerase in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: prediction of metastasis and prognostic significance.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To detect telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) expression in tissue and metastatic and non-metastatic lymph node samples from patients with non-small cell lung cancer; to evaluate whether TERT expression is correlated with pathological and clinical features, and/or patient survival times; to determine differences between TERT expression in metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tumor tissue samples from 17 patients with squamous cell lung cancer and 11 patients with adenocarcinoma diagnosed between 2003 and 2004 were included in this study. All patients were diagnosed at our hospital and had samples stored in the pathology archive. Additionally, dissected lymph node samples, with and without metastases, were studied. Telomerase Gene Tex, Inc, Irvine, CA USA (TERT (2C4) antibody), Universal Kit (Lab Vision, Newmarket, UK) were used for immunohistochemical staining. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 17.0 statistical software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TERT was positive in 18/28 of the samples, regardless of the histological tumor type. There was no significant correlation between TERT expression in lymph nodes with metastasis and clinical stage, histological type, tumor differentiation, or survival time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TERT expression may be used as a target for therapy. It may also be helpful in predicting metastasis but not in predicting survival time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Disease, Yedikule Chest Disease and Surgery Education and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey. gulfidanaras@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Gülfidan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aras
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kanmaz
authors.forename: Nur
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Urer
authors.forename: Sevim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Purisa
authors.forename: Figen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kadakal
authors.forename: Esin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yentürk
authors.forename: Esin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tuncay
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000556:secondary; D000077192:Adenocarcinoma of Lung; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000201:enzymology*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000201:enzymology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D011379:Prognosis; D019098:Telomerase / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019098:Telomerase
keywords: Telomerase; cancer; lung; metastasis