Telomerase expression in intracranial tumours: prognostic potential for malignant gliomas and meningiomas

Aim - To evaluate the diagnostic value of telomerase expression in intracra nial tumours. Methods - 98 surgical specimens from different neoplasms were analysed by t he telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) and the presence of telom erase compared with tl-le histological diagnosis and the proliferation inde x. Results - A high degree of positivity for telomerase activity was found in gliablastomas and atypical/anaplastic meningiomas. Telomerase activity was poorly detected in anaplastic astrocytomas. Conclusions - The TRAP assay seems to be a valuable index for identifying m eningeal tumours with aggressive behaviour.