TELOMERASE ASSAY OF BODY FLUIDS FOR CANCER SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT OF DISEASE STAGE AND PROGNOSIS

摘要

Elevated telomerase activity levels in tissue and cell extracts have been used to determine the presence of cancer in a tissue sample. The invention herein is directed to an improved telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay for quantitating telomerase RNA or telomerase activity levels, using easily obtainable body fluids, such as blood, plasma, lymph, pleural fluid, spinal fluid, saliva, sputum, urine, and semen, for example, to both detect the presence of cancer as well as assess the stage of the disease and the prognosis of the patient. The improved TRAP assay can be used as a diagnostic marker for malignancy as well as a means of monitoring the progress and effectiveness of cancer therapies.