The Change of Telomerase Activity by Cisplatin and 5-FU in Head and Neck Cancer Cell Lines / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Telomerase activity appears to be associated with cell immortalisation and malignant progres-sion. Telomerase activity has been found in the majority of human tumours, but not in most somatic cells or tissues. We studied the change in the telomerase activity by cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in head and neck cancer cell lines. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Three different human head and neck cancer cell lines (PNUH-12, SNU-899, HEp-2) were studied. Cell cytotoxi-city and change of telomerase activity by 5-FU and cisplatin treatment were assessed by MTT and TRAP assays. RESULTS: The telomerase activity was detected in the head and neck cancer cell lines. After the cisplatin treatment, the telomerase activity was decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. However, after 5-FU treatment, the telomerase activity showed a slight decrease or no change at the concentration similar to that of cisplatin in the inhibition of tumor growth. CONCLUSION: Our results can explain one of the reasons why cisplatin is more effective than 5-FU in the chemotherapy of head and neck cancer.