Telomerase Activity and K-ras Gene Mutation in Pancreatic Juice for Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer

Jung, Hye Kyung; Son, Hye Young; Lee, Han Chu; Kim, Doe Young; Yi, Sun Young; Moon, Il Hwan; Myung, Seung Jae; Seo, Dong Wan; Lee, Sung Koo; Min, Young Il; Kim, Myung Hwan

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The reactivation of telomerase may be concomitant with the cell immortality and mutations of the K-ras gene are common genetic alteration found in pancreatic carcinomas. The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of the method using telomerase and K-ras mutation for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
METHODS
Telomerase activity and K-ras mutation were examined using pancreatic juice collected during endoscopic retrograde pancreatography. Telomerase activity was detected by telomeric repeat amplication protocol method and K-ras mutation by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing.
RESULTS
Telomerase activities were detected in 91.7% of patients with pancreatic cancer and only in 18.2% of patients with chronic pancreatitis. Mutant K-ras genes were detected in 75% of patients with pancreatic cancer and 27.3% of patients with chronic pancreatitis. The sensitivity and specificity of the method using telomerase activity for detection of pancreatic cancer were 91.7% and 89.5%, respectively. The measurement of both telomerase activity and K-ras mutation increased the likelihood of early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
CONCLUSIONS
The measurement of telomerase activity or K-ras mutation in pancreatic juice may be useful for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, and the measurement of both telomerase activity and K-ras mutation is a specific method in discriminating cancer from benign pancreatic disease.