Determination of telomerase activity in squamous cell carcinoma of the penis

Telomerase activity was studied in 51 penile carcinomas, and detected in al l samples from 3 patients with verrucous carcinoma, in 85.4% (41/48) of inv asive carcinomas, in 81.8% (9/11) of adjacent non-cancerous skin and in 80% (8/10) of adjacent non-cancerous corpus cavernosum. All skin and corpus ca vernosum samples from patients with prostatic carcinoma were found to be te lomerase negative. Our results indicate a correlation between frequency of telomerase activity and grade of penile carcinoma. The finding of telomeras e activity in skin and corpus cavernosum samples adjacent to tumor suggests that unidentified local factors may modulate telomerase activity in normal tissues.