Objective: To investigate the relationship between telomerase expression and the carcinogenesis of cervix, and the possibility of using telomerase as a marker to evaluate the natural history of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).
Methods: Use the telomere repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay to detect cervical lesion in cervical scraping samples and cervical biopsy tissues.
Results: Sixty two point five percent, 60.0 percent, 82.4 percent and 61.9 percent cervical scraping samples exhibited telomerase activity in CINI, CINII, CINIII and cervical cancer, respectively, compared 50.0 percent, 45.0 percent, 96.4 percent and 95.2 percent in cervical biopsy tissue. In contrast, 20.0 percent and 26.7 percent in cervical scraping samples and cervical biopsy tissues of normal cervix. With the development of cervical lesion, the expression of tolemerase activation was increasing (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between CINI and CINII (P > 0.05). There were significant differences between CINIII and CINI, CINII (P < 0.05) Telomerase activity was coincidence between the cervical scraping samples and cervical biopsy tissues.
Conclusions: These results seem to suggest that the Telomerase expression may associate with the carcinogenesis of cervix. The telomerase activity assay of cervical scraping sample could be used as a marker to monitor and predicate the transit of CIN in clinical practice.