Iranian Journal of Pathology

Comparing Length and Telomere Expression at Oral Precancerous and Cancerous Stages

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

Fahad Mansoor Samadi 1
Shaista Suhail 1
Manjari Sonam 2
Mohd Kaleem Ahmad 3
Vijay Kumar 4
Shaleen Chandra 1
Shadab Mohammad 5

1 Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, India

2 Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Sardar Patel PG Institute of Dental and Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India

3 Department of Biochemistry, KGMU, Lucknow, India

4 Department of Surgical Oncology, King George Medical University, Lucknow, India

5 Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, King George Medical University, Lucknow, India

https://doi.org/10.30699/ijp.2024.1996330.3081
Abstract
Background & Objective: Telomeres consist of repetitive G-rich nucleotides located at the end of each chromosome, acting as protein binding sites. The aim of this study was to examine the differences in telomere length in blood, saliva, and tissue samples at various stages of oral precancerous and cancerous lesions.
Methods: Samples of blood, tissue, and saliva were collected from patients with oral precancerous and cancerous lesions. DNA extraction was performed. Then, a TRAP assay was conducted to assess and compare the telomere length and telomerase expression.
Results: The levels of telomerase activity (TA) in the DNA samples ranged from 0.19 to 6.91 (2.05+1.37) among oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients and from 0.17 to 4.5 (0.28+4.25) among precancerous patients. A significant difference was observed in TA levels between OSCC and precancerous samples (t=3.9691, P= 0.0000).
Conclusion: Assessing the telomerase activity is crucial for studying the behavior of carcinoma in the clinical setting. The augmented telomerase expression and the length of telomere contribute to OSCC progression. Hence, this study adds a diagnostic tool that can serve as a biomarker for the early detection and prognosis of OSCC.

Keywords

Carcinoma
Biomarkers
DNA
Prognosis
Telomere

Subjects

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Iranian Journal of Pathology
Volume 19, Issue 2
Spring 2024
Pages 146-151

  • Receive Date 16 March 2023
  • Revise Date 22 September 2023
  • Accept Date 22 September 2023

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