Introduction: Choriocarcinoma is malignant cancer
originating from placental trophoblast. The incidence of this
cancer is estimated at 0.57-1.1 per 1000 births in the United
States of America, Australia, Europe, and New Zealand. The
rate is much higher in South East Asia and Japan with two
occurrences per a thousand births. Telomerase activity is an
important part of the apoptotic process. Increased
telomerase activity will result in cellular immortality and
poor prognosis in cancer. Vitamin A possess an essential
role in cell proliferation and differentiation. One of the active
metabolites of vitamin A is All-Trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA).
Methods: In this study, we examined the role of ATRA
against telomerase activity in choriocarcinoma cell. This cell
was derived from BeWo cell line (ATCC CCL-98) and were
given different doses of ATRA.
Results: From this study, Choriocarcinoma cell that was
given ATRA in dosage of 50μg/ml inhibit telomerase activity
by extending the cycle time of 39.51±0.09, compared to the
control group with a cycle time of 37.62±0.43. Cycle length
change consistently with higher dose of ATRA.
Conclusion: This study has proven that ATRA could inhibit
telomerase activity by lengthening the cycle. Changes in the
increase of ATRA doses in this experimental test need to be
studied further on experimental animals, either administered
as a single agent or as an addition to standard treatment of
trophoblastic disease