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The diagnostic and prognostic relevance of human telomerase reverse transcriptase mRNA expression detected in situ in patients with nonsmall cell lung carcinoma
Author(s) -
Fujita Yuka,
Fujikane Toshiaki,
Fujiuchi Satoru,
Nishigaki Yutaka,
Yamazaki Yasuhiro,
Nagase Atsushi,
Shimizu Tetsuo,
Ohsaki Yoshinobu,
Kikuchi Kenjiro
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.11611
Subject(s) - telomerase reverse transcriptase , telomerase , in situ hybridization , lung cancer , medicine , clinical significance , carcinoma , lymph node , carcinoma in situ , stage (stratigraphy) , pathology , oncology , cancer research , biology , messenger rna , gene , paleontology , biochemistry
BACKGROUND The objectives of this study were to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic relevance of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) detected in situ in patients with nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and to investigate the possible correlations between hTERT mRNA in NSCLC and the patients' clinicopathologic features, including survival. METHODS hTERT mRNA was detected by in situ hybridization in 146 samples from patients with NSCLC. The signal intensity of hTERT mRNA expression was evaluated by two independent observers. The expression level was defined subjectively as strong, moderate, or weak. RESULTS hTERT mRNA was detected mainly in the cytoplasm of tumor cells. It was detected in the cytoplasm of 100% of samples from patients with NSCLC but was not detected in normal lung tissue, except in activated lymphocytes. There was a significant correlation between hTERT mRNA expression and pathologic tumor status, pathologic disease stage (pStage), and Ki‐67 labeling index. There was no significant correlation between hTERT mRNA expression and age, gender, pathologic lymph node status (pN), histology, or tumor differentiation. The 5‐year survival rates for patients with strong and moderate hTERT mRNA expression levels were 46.9% and 77.9%, respectively; the difference was statistically significant ( P = 0.0001). A multivariate analysis of survival using a stepwise procedure revealed that hTERT mRNA expression, pN status, pStage, and age were statistically significant prognostic factors ( P = 0.0029, P = 0.0012, P = 0.0237, and P = 0.0496, respectively). CONCLUSIONS The findings suggested that hTERT mRNA expression may be useful for the diagnosis of NSCLC and also may be an independent prognostic factor for patients with NSCLC. Cancer 2003;98:1008–13. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11611