TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of PCR-ELISA for determination of telomerase activity in prostate needle biopsy and prostatic fluid specimens
AU - Wang, Zhilian
AU - Ramin, Soroush A.
AU - Tsai, Christopher
AU - Lui, Paul
AU - Ruckle, Herbert C.
AU - Beltz, Richard E.
AU - Sands, John F.
AU - Slattery, Charles W.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Roger Barnes Fund, the US Department of the Army and the National Medical Technology Testbed, Inc. The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the authors and should not be construed as a position, policy, decision or endorsement of the R. B. Fund Association, the Federal Government, or the National Medical Technology Testbed, Inc.
PY - 2002/9
Y1 - 2002/9
N2 - The conventional TRAP assay will determine telomerase activity in tissue or other specimens. However, methodological disadvantages limit its clinical use. We evaluated a modified TRAP assay, the telomerase PCR-ELISA, as a practical clinical system for measuring its activity in conjunction with prostate cancer (PCa). We examined telomerase activity by both TRAP and PCR-ELISA assays in 48 sextant needle biopsy (SNB) specimens from dye-marked areas of the prostate glands of 7 PCa patients. Each specimen was histologically confirmed as cancerous or cancer-free by examining a paired specimen taken from the same marked area. In addition, prostatic fluid (PF) specimens were analyzed from 18 patients, 9 of whom were diagnosed with PCa while 9 were diagnosed as cancer-free but mostly with BPH. The results on individual SNB specimens matched well for the two methods. The sensitivity (91%) and specificity (69%) for the PCR-ELISA measurements were consistent with those for the conventional TRAP assay, 88% and 81%, respectively. Quantitatively, with the PCR-ELISA assay, the mean telomerase activity (24.5±28.4 units) per needle core with PCa cells was significantly higher than that in needle cores without PCa cells (7.2±2.2 unit), as it was with the conventional TRAP assay, namely 25.6±27.8 units and 7.3±1.8 units, respectively. In PF specimens from PCa patients, which had a lower mean telomerase than was found in needle cores containing PCa cells (7.1±1.5 units in the PCR-ELISA, 7.2±1.8 units in the conventional TRAP assay), statistical analysis showed good matching between the results from the two assays, overall. In conclusion, the PCR-ELISA can be considered a reliable method to determine telomerase activity as an adjunct in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.
AB - The conventional TRAP assay will determine telomerase activity in tissue or other specimens. However, methodological disadvantages limit its clinical use. We evaluated a modified TRAP assay, the telomerase PCR-ELISA, as a practical clinical system for measuring its activity in conjunction with prostate cancer (PCa). We examined telomerase activity by both TRAP and PCR-ELISA assays in 48 sextant needle biopsy (SNB) specimens from dye-marked areas of the prostate glands of 7 PCa patients. Each specimen was histologically confirmed as cancerous or cancer-free by examining a paired specimen taken from the same marked area. In addition, prostatic fluid (PF) specimens were analyzed from 18 patients, 9 of whom were diagnosed with PCa while 9 were diagnosed as cancer-free but mostly with BPH. The results on individual SNB specimens matched well for the two methods. The sensitivity (91%) and specificity (69%) for the PCR-ELISA measurements were consistent with those for the conventional TRAP assay, 88% and 81%, respectively. Quantitatively, with the PCR-ELISA assay, the mean telomerase activity (24.5±28.4 units) per needle core with PCa cells was significantly higher than that in needle cores without PCa cells (7.2±2.2 unit), as it was with the conventional TRAP assay, namely 25.6±27.8 units and 7.3±1.8 units, respectively. In PF specimens from PCa patients, which had a lower mean telomerase than was found in needle cores containing PCa cells (7.1±1.5 units in the PCR-ELISA, 7.2±1.8 units in the conventional TRAP assay), statistical analysis showed good matching between the results from the two assays, overall. In conclusion, the PCR-ELISA can be considered a reliable method to determine telomerase activity as an adjunct in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.
KW - Prostate cancer
KW - Prostatic fluid
KW - Sextant needle cores
KW - Telomerase
KW - Telomerase PCR ELISA
KW - Telomeric repeat amplification protocol
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U2 - 10.1016/S1078-1439(02)00191-6
DO - 10.1016/S1078-1439(02)00191-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 12644217
SN - 1078-1439
VL - 7
SP - 199
EP - 205
JO - Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations
JF - Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations
IS - 5
ER -