704, p = 0.0001) (Figure 4). Figure 4 Correlation between p38 and hTERT in liposarcoma samples. There was a significant correlation between the values of p38 expression and those of hTERT (r = 0.704, p = 0.0001). Prognostic factors Patients who had a higher than average click here expression of p38 MAPK (5-year survival rate: 50.0%) had a Selleckchem CP868596 significantly worse prognosis than other patients (88.9%) (p = 0.0448) in LS patients. There were no significant differences in prognosis between patients who had a higher than average expression

of hTERT (62.5%) and those who did not (87.5%) (p = 0.110). Bone MFH samples p38 MAPK and hTERT mRNA expression p38 MAPK expression was demonstrated in 77.8% (7 of 9) and hTERT expression was demonstrated in all (9 of 9) of bone MFH samples. The levels of p38 MAPK were 46.4 ± 58.2 (range: 0-191) and the levels of hTERT were 636.5 ± 453.3 (range: 241.7-1405.4) in bone MFH samples.

Correlation between levels of p38 MAPK and hTERT mRNA expression There was a significant correlation between the values of p38 MAPK expression and hTERT, with increased p38 MAPK expression with higher hTERT (r = 0.802, p = 0.0093) (Figure 5). Figure 5 Correlation between p38 and hTERT in bone MFH samples. There was a significant correlation between the values of p38 expression and those of hTERT (r GSI-IX cost = 0.802, p = 0.0093). Prognostic factors Patients who had a higher than average expression of p38 MAPK (5-year survival rate: 0%) had a worse prognosis than other patients (66.7%), but did not reach significant differences (p = 0.202). There were no significant differences in prognosis between patients who had a higher than average expression of hTERT (33.3%) and those who did not (50.0%) (p = 0.904). Discussion hTERT is the BCKDHA catalytic telomerase subunit component that copies a template region of its functional RNA subunit to the end of the telomere. In terms of carcinomas, hTERT mRNA expression and telomerase activity are closely associated, and quantification of hTERT mRNA has been reported as an alternative to the measure

of telomerase activity [7, 25, 26]. Also, in sarcomas, the correlation between telomerase activity and hTERT has been reported [9, 10, 27]. However, in contrast, previous reports maintained that hTERT expression does not correlate to telomerase activity [12, 23], and hTERT mRNA expression was only studied in the absence of detectable telomerase activity on sarcomas [8, 12, 27, 28]. There is no clear understanding of the discordance between hTERT and telomerase activity in sarcomas [23, 29]. Recently, the presence of telomerase activity and alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) in several sarcomas was examined extensively, and these studies indicate a positive correlation between the telomere maintenance mechanism and tumor aggressiveness in several sarcoma types [29].