hTERT expression is a prognostic factor of survival in patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer
Activation of telomerase plays a critical role in unlimitedproliferation and immortalization of
cells. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significance of human telomerase
reverse transcriptase catalytic subunit (hTERT) as a prognostic marker. The expression of
hTERT in a large population of 153 patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer was
analyzed using the in situ hybridization technique. We found that diffuse and clear hTERT
expression was present in 51 (33%) of 153 patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that …
cells. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significance of human telomerase
reverse transcriptase catalytic subunit (hTERT) as a prognostic marker. The expression of
hTERT in a large population of 153 patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer was
analyzed using the in situ hybridization technique. We found that diffuse and clear hTERT
expression was present in 51 (33%) of 153 patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that …
Abstract
Activation of telomerase plays a critical role in unlimitedproliferation and immortalization of cells. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significance of human telomerase reverse transcriptase catalytic subunit (hTERT) as a prognostic marker.
The expression of hTERT in a large population of 153 patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer was analyzed using the in situ hybridization technique.
We found that diffuse and clear hTERT expression was present in 51 (33%) of 153 patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that hTERT expression was associated with shorter overall survival (P = 0.04), shorter disease-specific survival (P = 0.03), and shorter disease-free survival (P = 0.02). Multivariate analysis confirmed this independent prognostic value of hTERT expression.
Our results indicated that hTERT mRNA expression is associated with malignant tumor progression and poor outcome. hTERT may serve as a useful marker to identify patients with poor prognosis and to select patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer who might benefit from adjuvant treatment.
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