Short Telomeres, Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Gene Amplification, and Increased Telomerase Activity in the Blood of Familial Papillary Thyroid Cancer Patients

Abstract

Our study demonstrates that patients with FPTC display an imbalance of the telomere-telomerase complex in the peripheral blood, characterized by short telomeres, hTERT gene amplification, and expression. These features may be implicated in the inherited predisposition to develop FPTC.