摘要目的探讨食管鳞癌和不典型增生的端粒酶活性,同时研究端粒酶活性与癌的分化、浸润、转移的关系.方法应用显微切割-TRAP-银染法对45例食管鳞癌组织、癌旁非典型增生上皮及切缘的正常粘膜上皮进行定点端粒酶活性的检测.结果食管正常粘膜上皮的端粒酶活性阳性率为5%(2/40),非典型增生上皮为79.3%(23/29),癌组织为82.2%(37/45).非典型增生上皮的端粒酶活性明显高于正常上皮,差异有高度显著性(P<0.01).28例有淋巴结转移者的癌组织中有26例可检测到端粒酶活性,阳性率为92.2%,明显高于无淋巴结转移者(64.7%,11/17),差异有显著性(P<0.05).不同分化程度的癌组织其端粒酶活性差异均无显著性(P>0.05).结论食管鳞癌及其癌前病变端粒酶活性均明显增高.癌组织端粒酶活性与淋巴结转移有关,而与癌的分化程度无关.

abstractsObjectives To investigate telomerase activity in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and its preneoplasia lesions, and to study the relationships between telomerase activity and cancer differentiation, cancer invasiveness, and lymphatic metastasis. Methods Telomerase activity in esophageal SCC tissues, adjacent dysplasia tissues and normal epithelia from the surgical edge were assessed by microdissection-TRAP (telomeric repeat amplification protocol)-silver staining assay. Results Telomerase activity was detected in 37 (82.2%) of 45 esophageal tumors, 23 (79.3%) of 29 dysplasias, and 2 (5%) of 40 normal epithelia. There was a significant difference in activity between dysplasia and normal epithelium, as well as between tumor and normal epithelium. Twenty-six (92.9%) of 28 tumors with lymphatic metastasis had detectable telomerase activity compared to 11 (64.7%) of 17 non-lymphatic metastasis tumors. These relationships were statistically significant (P<0.05), but the one between telomerase activity and tumor grade was not.Conclusion Telomerase activity was high both in esophageal SCC and their preneoplasia lesions. The telomerase activity in SCC tissue was related to lymphatic metastasis, but not to cancer differentiation.