It is well known that almost all
carcinoma cells including those of the uterine cervix have re-established their
telomerase activity. However, until now there is no conclusive picture on the
telomerase activity in
cervical dysplasias and about their relationship to
HPV infection. To investigate this question, material from 34 patients (15 with normal epithelium, 11 with LGSIL, 8 with HGSIL) obtained by conventional cervical brushing was used and subjected to non-radioactive TRAP-ELISA (Boehringer Mannheim). The HPV analysis was performed by PCR on
formalin-fixed,
paraffin-embedded biopsy material obtained after cytological investigation. We could show that
telomerase activity is detectable in normal cervical epithelium, and that an gradual increase exists for both
telomerase activity and HPV positivity from normal epithelium to HGSIL. However,
HPV infection and
telomerase activity appear to be independent of each other. The high frequency of
telomerase positivity in patients with normal cervical epithelium indicates that
telomerase activity is not a useful differential diagnostic aid. Whether patients with
telomerase-positive dysplasias have a higher probability to progress into an invasive
carcinoma remains to be clarified by follow-up studies.