Analysis of hTERT mRNA expression in biliary tract and pancreatic cancer

Background/PurposeTelomerase, an enzyme that prevents the loss of telomere regions consisting of TTAGGG repeats, which maintain the stability of cells, is considered to be involved in cell immortality and cancer growth. Recent genetic analysis has shown that the mRNA for the catalytic subunit of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is expressed in many cancer tissues.