Telomerase is Significant as an Early Diagnostic Marker and Therapeutic Target

摘要

Breast cancer, a hormone-dependence disease, is the most common malignant tumor in women. Breast cancer incidence rates increase with age. Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein that maintains chromosome ends and endows cells with unlimited proliferative potential. Activation of telomerase maintains a relatively stable telomere length, confers immortality on some cells, and may even lead to cancer. It has been reported that, in the tissues of the breast, the activity of telomerase can be detected in more than 90 % of invasive breast cancers, while not in adjacent normal tissues. Thus, telomerase activation plays a critical role in development of breast cancer. Telomerase has been proposed as a biomarker with diagnostic and prognostic potential in breast cancer as well as a basis for the targeted therapy of breast cancer.