Relationship between Clinicopathological Characteristics and Telomerase Activity of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Chung, Jae Min; Lee, Sang Don; Chung, Moon Kee; Jun, Eun Sook

Abstract

PURPOSE: Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein involved in maintaining the telomere length in stem, and immortal or actively dividing, cells. There is controversy relating to the correlation between the telomerase activity and the clinicopathological characteristics of renal cell carcinomas. The relationships between the telomerase activity and the clinicopathological characteristics of renal cell carcinomas were evaluated.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty-seven renal cell carcinoma tissues, and 22 normal renal tissues around renal cell carcinoma tissues, were aseptically obtained from a radical or partial nephrectomy in 27 cases with a renal cell carcinoma. The telomerase activity was analyzed using a PCR-based telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP)-ELISA method. The telomerase activity was compared with the clinicopathological characteristics, such as sex, age of patient, histologic type, stage, grade, size and metastasis, of the renal cell carcinomas.
RESULTS
Telomerase activity was detected in 24 of the 27 renal cell carcinoma tissues (88.9%), but not in all of the normal renal tissues. There was no statistical correlation between the telomerase activity and the clinicopathological features.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that the telomerase activity may play a role in the carcinogenesis of renal cell carcinomas, but there is no relationship between the telomerase activity and the clinicopathological characteristics of renal cell carcinomas.