چكيده لاتين :
Despite the advances in diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer, its survival rate has only improved in those
with early stages of disease. Telomerase is a tumor marker that has been focused on recently as a novel tool for early
diagnosis of lung cancer. This study aimed to compare telomerase activity in cases with malignant and benign pleural
effusions.
Materials and Methods: Telomerase activity was assessed in 28 consecutive cases of pleural effusions (19 cases with
malignant and 9 cases with benign histopathologic diagnosis) with telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) between
Apr. 2006 and Sep.2007. Data analysis was performed by using Chi-square test and t-test.
Results: Twenty (71.4%) out of 28 cases with pleural effusions were positive for telomerase activity. Telomerase activity was
positive in all 19 malignant effusions, while only one case with effusion due to a benign condition (TB) had positive
telomerase activity (p<0.0001). The sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of telomerase activity for detecting
malignant pleural effusions were 100%, 88.9% and 96.4%, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values of
telomerase activity were 95% and 100%, respectively. Mean relative telomerase activity was not significantly different in
malignant and benign effusions (24.3±5.2% vs. 15.05%; p>0.05)
Conclusion: Telomerase activity is a highly sensitive and specific diagnostic biomarker for malignancy and may be used as
an adjunct to other diagnostic tools such as cytology for malignant pleural effusions. (Tanaffos 2009; 8(2): 17-23)
