Telomerase activity analyzed with trap in situ provides additional information in effusions remaining equivocal after immunocytochemistry and hyaluronan analysis.
Cytology is central in the diagnosis of malignancy in effusions. Ancillary techniques, mainly immunocytochemistry, have considerably improved the sensitivity but some 10% of all cases remain equivocal and require the addition of new diagnostic modalities. We have previously shown that strong nuclear telomerase activity determined with Telomere Repeat Amplification Protocol (TRAP) in situ is specif