Detection of telomerase activity in prostate cancer by needle biopsy

Objectives: Re-expression of telomerase is believed to play an important role in immortalization and carcinogenesis. Thus, telomerase activity is considered to be a potentially useful diagnostic marker. We evaluated the potential diagnostic use of assaying telomerase activity in needle biopsy samples of prostate. Methods: 114 were obtained from 38 patients with suspected cancer who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided systematic prostate needle biopsy. Two samples were obtained per site for histological examination and telomerase assay. The activity was assayed using the telomeric repeat amplification protocol and correlated with histological findings. Results: Of the total of 114 samples, 57 were obtained from 22 prostate cancer patients. Telomerase activity was detected in 66% (25/38) of the samples which were histologically confirmed to contain cancerous cells and in 11% (2/19) of the samples from adjacent noncancerous tissues. Of 22 patients with prostate cancer, 82% were positive for telomerase activity in one or more samples by needle biopsy, whereas 1 of 16 patients without histologically cancerous tissues was positive for the telomerase. Conclusions: The results indicate that telomerase activity in needle biopsy samples is a useful diagnostic marker of prostate cancer.