| Esophageal carcinoma is one of common malignant tumors threatening human health. It is very necessary to explore new therapy way for esophageal carcinoma. The developments in molecular biochemistry have provided the possibility for this purpose.Telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein enzyme, synthesizes DNA-protein complexes which is called telomere at the end of eukaryotic chromosomes that protects chromosome ends from fusion and degradation, ensures the complete replication of telomeric DNA. Telomerase thought to be necessary for cellular immortality and carcinogenesis consists of three subunits: human telomerase RNA (hTR), human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), telomerase associated proteinI (TPI). hTERT is a catalytic subunit of telomerase and its expression is the rate-limiting factor of the enzymatic activity of human telomerase. According to studies, the most of examined tumors showed telomerase activity correlating with the expression of the activity-limiting component hTERT. hTERT was found in nearly all types of cancer but not in most normal, somatic cells. So it is thought the target of anticancer strategy. Esophageal carcinoma has been reported to have a high frequency of detectable telomerase activity and hTERT gene expression was consistent with detectable telomerase activity in 91% of esophageal tissues. This suggested a strong relationship between the expression of hTERT mRNA and telomerase activity in esophageal tissues.
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