Expression of telomerase hTERT in human non-small cell lung cancer and its correlation with c-myc gene

Objective To investigate the expression of human telomerase catalytic subunit, hTERT, in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and its correlations to c-myc gene. Methods hTERT and c-myc mRNA expressions were detected by semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction ( RT-PCR). Statistical correlation analysis was made to estimate whether there was interrelation between them. Results Positive rate of hTERT expression in 51 surgically resected lung cancer specimens was 86.3%, significantly higher than that in adjacent non-neoplastic lung tissues and benign lesions, which were 14.3% and 27.3% respectively. No statistical significance was observed between the frequency of hTERT expression and histologic types, degree of differentiation, TNM stages, tumor size or lymph nodes metastases. Correlation analysis revealed that the expression of c-myc gene was significantly related to that of hTERT ( correlation coefficient, r = 0.633, P < 0.001). Conclusions hTERT may be a useful tumor marker in diagnosing lung cancer. Significant correlation between the expression of hTERT and c-myc mRNA indicates that the activation and up-regulation of hTERT might be conferred by over-expression of c-myc gene.