Telomerase as a target in diagnosis and treatment of cancer in postmenopausal women

Telomeres and telomerase are responsible for protection and maintenance of genomic stability of all eukaryotic cells. Several studies showed that one of the most distinguishing features of cancer cells is an increased expression and activity of telomerase, in contrast to somatic cells. This gives an opportunity for use of telomerase as a specific marker of cancer lesions or even as a molecular target. However, there are some questions concerning diagnostic specificity of this marker especially in the context of high proliferation potential of normal cells, such as the uterus and ovaries. The proliferation potential, however, decreases due to the menopause syndrome. Women’s age and hormonal changes influence the functioning of many tissues, including alterations in telomerase activity of endometrial and ovarian cancer cells. The different characteristics of telomerase activity and telomere length in cells of postmenopausal women give an opportunity to utilize the telomeres and telomerase for the development of new cancer diagnostic tests and therapeutic methods. This work is aimed to summarize the information about the significance of telomeres and telomerase in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in postmenopausal women.