Expression of telomerase activity in peripheral blood of patients with lung cancer / 中国癌症杂志

ABSTRACT

Purpose:To detect the telomerase activity of lung cancer cells in peripheral blood by TRAP.Methods:The mononuclear cell fraction in peripheral blood was isolated by Ficoll Hypaque gradient centrifugation. Then the telomerase activity of cancer cells in peripheral blood of 49 pre chemotherapy patients was determined by PCR TRAP. Results:In the 49 cases, 65.3%(32/49) cases showed significantly increased telomerase activity, among these cases the telomerase activity was especially high in small cell lung cancer and advanced non small cell lung cancer patients, and telomerase activity in the primary chemotherapy patients was higher than in the recurrent chemotherapy patients. Conclusions:Telomerase activity may be a tumor marker of cancer cells in peripheral blood and can evaluate chemotherapy response in lung cancer.