Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Jul 28;13(28):3868-72.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v13.i28.3868.

Telomerase activity in colorectal cancer, prognostic factor and implications in the microsatellite instability pathway

M Vidaurreta  1 , M-L Maestro, S Rafael, S Veganzones, M-T Sanz-Casla, J Cerdán, M Arroyo
Affiliations

Telomerase activity in colorectal cancer, prognostic factor and implications in the microsatellite instability pathway

M Vidaurreta et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: To determine whether the telomerase activity is related to the Microsatellite instability (MSI) genetic pathway and whether it means a difference in the survival.

Methods: The population consisted of 97 colorectal cancer patients. MSI determination was performed in accordance with the NCI criteria using PCR and Genescan. Telomerase activity was determined by the TRAP-assay, an ELISA procedure based on the amplification of telomeric repeat sequences.

Results: 6.2% showed high MSI (MSI-H), 10.3% showed low MSI (MSI-L) and 83.5% did not show this alteration (MSS). Positive telomerase activity was detected in 92.8% of the patients. 83.3% of MSI-H tumors showed positive telomerase against 93.8% of MSS tumors. In the overall survival analysis the absence of telomerase activity conferred a better prognosis.

Conclusion: Previous works have shown that tumors which develop via the MSI pathway present a better prognosis. No link between telomerase activity and MSI status is observed, although sample sizes are small. Patients with telomerase negative tumors had better overall survival than patients with telomerase positive tumors.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Thibodeau SN, Bren G, Schaid D. Microsatellite instability in cancer of the proximal colon. Science. 1993;260:816–819. - PubMed
    1. Gryfe R, Kim H, Hsieh ET, Aronson MD, Holowaty EJ, Bull SB, Redston M, Gallinger S. Tumor microsatellite instability and clinical outcome in young patients with colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med. 2000;342:69–77. - PubMed
    1. Wright CM, Dent OF, Barker M, Newland RC, Chapuis PH, Bokey EL, Young JP, Leggett BA, Jass JR, Macdonald GA. Prognostic significance of extensive microsatellite instability in sporadic clinicopathological stage C colorectal cancer. Br J Surg. 2000;87:1197–1202. - PubMed
    1. Samowitz WS, Sweeney C, Herrick J, Albertsen H, Levin TR, Murtaugh MA, Wolff RK, Slattery ML. Poor survival associated with the BRAF V600E mutation in microsatellite-stable colon cancers. Cancer Res. 2005;65:6063–6069. - PubMed
    1. Shay JW, Bacchetti S. A survey of telomerase activity in human cancer. Eur J Cancer. 1997;33:787–791. - PubMed

Publication types