Background/Objectives: Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is the catalytic subunit of the telomerase enzyme responsible for telomere length maintenance and is an important cancer hallmark. Our study aimed to clarify the mRNA expression of TERT in peritoneal mesothelioma (PeM), and to explore the relationship between its expression and the clinicopathological parameters and prognosis of patients with PeM. Methods: In a cohort of 13 MpeM patients, we evaluated histotype, nuclear grade, mitotic count, necrosis, inflammation, Ki67, BAP1, MTAP and p16 expression by immunohistochemistry,p16/CDKN2Astatus by FISH and TERT mRNA expression by RNAscope. Results: Our results showed several statistical correlations between TERT mRNA-score and other investigated features: (i) a poor positive correlation with BAP1 score (r= 0.06340;p≤ 0.0001); (ii) a moderate positive correlation withp16FISH del homo (r= 0.6340;p≤ 0.0001); (iii) a fair negative correlation withp16FISH del hetero (r= −0.3965;p≤ 0.0001); a negative poor correlation with MTAP (r= −0.2443;p≤ 0.0001); and (iv) a negative fair correlation with inflammatory infiltrate (r = −0.5407;p= 0.0233). Moreover, patients survive for a significantly longer time if they have a low mitotic index adjusted (2–4 mitotic figures per 2 mm2) (p≤ 0.0001), are male (p= 0.0152), lose BAP1 (p= 0.0152), are p16 positive and present no deletion or heterozygous forp16(p≤ 0.01). Conclusions: TERT is highly expressed in PeM, but it is not one of the crucial factors in evaluating the prognosis of patients. Nevertheless, the results validate the prognostic significance of the mitotic index, BAP1 loss andp16/CDKN2A status.
背景/目的：端粒酶逆转录酶（TERT）是端粒酶的催化亚基，负责维持端粒长度，是重要的癌症标志物。本研究旨在阐明TERT在腹膜间皮瘤（PeM）中的mRNA表达情况，并探讨其表达与PeM患者临床病理参数及预后的关系。方法：在一个包含13例恶性腹膜间皮瘤患者的队列中，我们通过免疫组化评估了组织学类型、核分级、核分裂计数、坏死、炎症、Ki67、BAP1、MTAP和p16的表达，通过荧光原位杂交检测p16/CDKN2A状态，并通过RNAscope技术检测TERT mRNA表达。结果：我们的结果显示TERT mRNA评分与其他研究特征之间存在多项统计学相关性：（i）与BAP1评分呈弱正相关（r=0.06340；p≤0.0001）；（ii）与p16 FISH纯合缺失呈中度正相关（r=0.6340；p≤0.0001）；（iii）与p16 FISH杂合缺失呈一般负相关（r=−0.3965；p≤0.0001）；与MTAP呈弱负相关（r=−0.2443；p≤0.0001）；（iv）与炎性浸润呈一般负相关（r=−0.5407；p=0.0233）。此外，患者若具有较低的校正核分裂指数（每2 mm² 2-4个核分裂象）（p≤0.0001）、为男性（p=0.0152）、存在BAP1缺失（p=0.0152）、p16阳性且无p16缺失或为杂合状态（p≤0.01），则生存时间显著更长。结论：TERT在PeM中高表达，但它并非评估患者预后的关键因素。然而，结果证实了核分裂指数、BAP1缺失以及p16/CDKN2A状态的预后意义。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家