| Objective To study the telomerase activity in exfoliated urine from patients with bladder cancer and to evaluate its clinical significance for the early detection of bladder cancer and follow-up of bladder cancer patients. Methods telomerase activity was examined by a modified TRAP---silver stain assay in tissue samples and urine samples from 25 bladder carcinomas and in urine samples from 23 patients with no evidences of malignant disease. Results of the 25 bladder carcinomas specimens,2 1(84%) tested positive for the presence of telomerase activity .Telomerase activity was also detected in 80%(20 of 25) voided urine samples .The telomerase activity positive rate of G1 ,G2,and G3 tumors were 71 %,70%,and 100%. Conclusions These results suggest that telomerase could be a good diagnostic marker for the early noninvasive identification of bladder cancer and follow-up of bladder cancer patients by detecting telomerase activity in urine samples. |
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