Telomere and telomerase in hematologicalmalignancies.

INTRODUCTION In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the number of researches on telomerase, since the definition of telomeres as the mitotic clock of the cell. Researchers are interested in the possible effects of telomeres and telomerase in carcinogenesis due to the relation between the telomeres and telomerase and the cell cycle. Telomere length alterations have been observed in many types of cancer and, more importantly, telomerase activation is believed to be crucial in most immortal and cancer cells [1,2]. Because telomerase reactivation is known to provide unlimited proliferation capability to the malignant cell, anti-telomerase therapy using special agents targeting the telomere or telomerase has become an attractive area for cancer treatment [3]. However, clinicopathologic significance of telomerase in cancer and the details of the mechanisms regulating its activity remain to be clarified.