Abstract
An increasing incidence of tumor disease, including GIT malignancies, are well documented not only in the Czech Republic, but also in other countries worldwide. A remarkable effort has been directed toward the development of novel diagnostic approaches leading to early detection of tumorigenesis and cancer formation.
Since the discovery that telomerase is strongly expressed in the vast majority of malignancies and contributes to genome instability in the cells, this enzymatic complex emerged as a promising target for early diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. According to many authors cancer treatment based on telomerase inhibition could be relatively specific, effective and safer.
In this review I summarize the current knowledge concerning the telomerase complex and colon cancer, focusing on the role of telomerase in early diagnosis and prognosis of this malignant disease.