Telomerase is a key enzyme with regard to immortalization of @entity5 cells and increased activity has been demonstrated in various @entity1 @entity5 . Since little is known of its role in @entity788 , we investigated changes in telomerase activity in @entity1 @entity788 and compared the frequency of increased telomerase activity with the presence of @entity984 gene mutations. The samples were obtained from 38 @entity788 and 7 @entity5 surrounding tissues at surgical resection. Telomerase activity was examined by telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay and terminal restriction fragment (TRF) length was examined by Southern analysis. @entity984 mutation was examined by means of polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism analysis. Among 38 @entity3123 , 32 (84%) exhibited increased telomerase activities with no apparent relation to the histological type of @entity5 , @entity5 size, regional lymphnode involvement and distant @entity3 or clinical stage. In tissue surrounding the @entity5 , telomerase activity was not detected. TRF length tended to be reduced in @entity3123 . Mutations of @entity984 gene were found in 24 out of the 38 (63%) cases. Among the 38 cases, 14 showed increased telomerase activity without @entity984 mutation and 4 cases showed @entity984 mutation without telomerase activity. These results suggest that increased telomerase activity might be a sensitive genetic diagnostic marker and could be a target for future therapy of @entity3123 .

Increased telomerase activities in @entity1 XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['human'] @entity3123 :: ('MESH:C562463', 'Disease') :: ['pancreatic carcinomas', 'pancreatic duct carcinomas'] @entity788 :: ('MESH:D010190', 'Disease') :: ['pancreatic duct adenocarcinomas', 'pancreatic cancers'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['tumor', 'cancer', 'malignant neoplasms'] @entity984 :: ('3845', 'Gene') :: ['K-ras'] @entity3 :: ('MESH:D009362', 'Disease') :: ['metastasis']
@entity788 :: (MESH:D010190,Disease) :: ['pancreatic duct adenocarcinomas']
