Detection of telomerase activity in bone tumors and its significance

    HUANG Luª²Yu1,LI Jing1,HUANG Suª²Hua2,TAO Huiª²Ren1,HAN Liª²Hua1,ZHU Jinª²Yu1,LIU Jian1

    1Department of Orthopaedics, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi¬ðan 710033, China, 2Department of Cosmetology, PLA 251st Hospital, Zhangjiakou 075000, China

    ¡¾Abstract¡¿ AIM: To investigate the correlation between the telomerase activity and the pathologic grade of bone tumors. METHODS: The telomerase activity was detected in bone tumors by TRAP and TRAPª²Ag+ staining methods. RESULTS: The telomerase positivity rate was 80.6% for osteosarcoma, 85.7% for chondrosarcoma, 100% for malignant fibrous histocytoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and chordoma, and 11.1% for chondroma, respectively. The telomerase activity in muscle tissues or soft tissues beside the invasive bone tumor tissues in 17 cases was also detected with negative result. CONCLUSION: There is a significant correlation between the telomerase activity and the pathologic grade of bone tumors. The telomerase activity is a good index of diagnosis and prognosis for malignant bone tumors. ......