Detection of human telomerase RNA component gene by fluorescent in situ hybridization for screening of cervical lesions / 中华病理学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the value of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) detection of human telomerase RNA component (hTERC) gene amplification in screening of cervical lesions.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 146 post-thinPrep cytology test (TCT) samples were analyzed using FISH by two-color interphase probe targeting hTERC gene at chromosome 3q26 and the data were compared with the cytological and histological results.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>FISH analysis was successful in 120 cases (20 cases of normal and 100 abnormal cases by TCT). Gene amplification of hTERC by FISH had a positive correlation with the cytological (r = 0.465, P < 0.01) and histological grade results (r = 0.610, P < 0.01). Extra copies of hTERC were seen in 28.6% (6/21) of CINI, 61.1% (11/18) of CINII, 75.0% (18/24) of CINIII and 91.7%(22/24) of squamous cell carcinoma, respectively. None (0/13) of the inflammation cases showed hTERC amplification. The sensitivity and specificity for detecting high grade lesions by FISH were 77.3% (51/66) and 82.4% (28/34); and the positive and negative predictive values were 89.5% and 65.1%, respectively. The rate of hTERC gene gain in high grade lesions was significantly higher than that in the low grade lesions (χ(2) = 32.550, P < 0.01). Combined with the high copy numbers, the sensitivity for detecting high grade lesions was increased to 81.2%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Detection of hTERC gene amplification by FISH improves the screening efficiency of high-risk cervical epithelial lesions. The presence of high copy numbers of hTERC correlates with the presence of high grade cervical dysplasia.</p>