Detection of telomerase activity in patients with mycosis fungoides.

OBJECTIVES

To detect telomerase activity in patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) and to study the role of telomerase in the tumorigenesis of MF.

METHODS

The technique of PCR-ELISA was employed to detect telomerase activity in 35 patients with various stages of MF.

RESULTS

92.3% tumor stage of MF, 78.6% plaque stage of MF and 75.0% patch stage of MF had positive telomerase activity. The control samples had no telomerase activity. Telomerase activity in tumor stage of MF was significantly higher than that in plaque stage, while the latter was higher than that in patch stage. Telomerase activity was correlated with the stage of MF.

CONCLUSION

High level of telomerase activity frequently occurred in patients with MF, suggesting that telomerase might play an important role in the tumorigenesis of MF and is a useful marker for the diagnosis of MF possibly.