Detection of hTERT mRNA in colonic brush specimens as an adjunct to cytopathologic diagnosis of colonic adenocarcinoma.

Objective: To investigate the role of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in determining telomerase catalytic subunit (hTERT) mRNA to assist with the diagnosis of colonic adenocarcinoma (CCA) in colonic brush cytology specimens.

Study Design: Twenty-seven colonic brushes of CCA were obtained. Initial cytologic diagnoses included CCA, suspicious for CCA (SFC), atypical (ATY) and unsatisfactory.