title: The status of telomerase enzyme activity in benign and malignant gynaecologic pathologies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Telomeres are essential for the function and stability of eukaryotic chromosomes. Telomerase consists of three subunits: human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), human telomerase RNA (hTR), and telomerase protein 1 (TP1). The hTERT subunit determines the activity of telomerase as an enzyme and is detected in most human tumors and regenerative cells. Telomerase activity is a useful cancer-cell detecting marker in some types of cancers.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess of telomerase hTERT mRNA in gynaecological tumors for diagnosis of malignancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 55 gynaecologic tumor samples (35 ovarian, 13 endometrial, 6 cervical and 1 placental site trophoblastic tumor tissue) were obtained at the time of surgery. Quantification of hTERT mRNA was performed in a real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using the LightCycler TeloTAGGG hTERT Quantification Kit.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was histopathologically detected that 18 of the tissue samples were malignant and 37 of the samples were benign. 16 of the malignant tissue samples (88.9%) and 3 (8.1%) (endometrial tissue in proliferative phase, mucinous cyst adenoma and endometriosis) of the benign tissue samples were found to be hTERT positive. With the presence of these data, sensitivity and specificity of hTERT for the diagnosis of malignancy were calculated to be 88.9% and 91.9%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was suggested that the measurement of telomerase activity in gynaecologic tumors, except for endometrial tissue in the reproductive phase, is a valuable method for pathological investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Military Hospital, Erzincan, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ilhami
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gül
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, GATA Haydarpaşa Training Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozgür
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dündar
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak Military Hospital, Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serkan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bodur
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, GATA Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tunca
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, GATA Haydarpaşa Training Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Levent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tütüncü
keywords: Telomerase; endometriosis; gynecologic tumors; hTERT; telomere