[Expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase in renal cell carcinoma and its clinical significance].

Objective: To investigate the expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and its clinical significance.

Methods: The expression levels of hTERT mRNA and protein were detected using RT-RCR and Western blotting in 45 RCC tissues, 45 adjacent tissues and 786-0 cell line, and the associations of hTERT expression with the tumor size, clinical stage, pathological type and grade were evaluated.

Results: hTERT mRNA and protein was expressed at significantly higher levels in RCC tissues than in the adjacent tissues (P=0.000), and no correlation of hTERT expression was found with the tumor size, clinical stage, pathological type or grade.

Conclusion: hTERT might serve as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for RCC, and also shed light on the new clues for gene therapy of RCC.