LACK OF TELOMERASE IN DESMOIDS OCCURRING SPORADICALLY AND IN ASSOCIATION WITH FAMILIAL ADENOMATOUS POLYPOSIS

Background Telomerase activity may be required for unlimited growth of cells and is repressed in most somatic tissues, but is detectable in immortal cell lines, germ cells, many malignancies and some benign les ions. Desmoids are proliferative, locally invasive, non-metastasizing fibromatous tumours which rarely regress. They occur frequently in fam ilial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), causing significant morbidity and d eath. Telomerase activity was assayed in desmoids from patients with a nd without FAP to assess the role of telomerase in the development of these lesions, and its potential as a prognostic marker and possible t arget for treatment. Methods protein extracts from 11 desmoids from ni ne patients with FAP, and ten desmoids from ten patients without FAP, were analysed for telomerase activity by the telomeric repeat amplific ation protocol, a sensitive polymerase chain reaction-based assay. Six fibrosarcomas and a fibrosarcoma cell line were used as positive cont rols; all displayed telomerase activity. Results No telomerase activit y was detected in any of the 21 desmoids studied.Conclusion These resu lts indicate that desmoid tumours are one of the intriguing exceptions to the emerging view that re-expression of telomerase activity accomp anies the development of preneoplastic and neoplastic tissues, and sug gest that alternative mechanisms may operate in these proliferative ne oplasms.