ReviewMolecular cancer research : MCR2016
Understanding TERT Promoter Mutations: A Common Path to Immortality.
Review in Molecular cancer research : MCR, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 178 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
178 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 297 citations in OpenAlex.
- Differences in the risk association of TERT rs2736098 (C > T) with lung cancer between Caucasian and Asian populations: A meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Ethnicity-specific association between TERT rs2736100 (A > C) polymorphism and lung cancer risk: a comprehensive meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- TERT Gene rs2736100 and rs2736098 Polymorphisms are Associated with Increased Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis.Biochemical genetics · 2022Pooled it
- Review
- Neuroendocrine Neoplasms of the Urinary Bladder: Integrating Molecular Advances into a Refined Classification System.Endocrine pathology · 2026Review
- Convergent Mechanistic Pathways Driving the Anaplastic Phenotype in Thyroid Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Quantitative and Targeted Regulation of Ferroptosis in Bladder Cancer: Preclinical Study.Journal of cellular and molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Utility of digital PCR for detecting TERT promoter mutations and CDKN2A homozygous deletion in meningioma.Brain tumor pathology · 2026Article
- Article
- Association of TERT promoter mutations with early recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma: a subgroup analysis in a Vietnamese cohort.BMC cancer · 2026Article
- Review
- OncoRisk: a state-of-the-art web server for bridging the oncogenic databases and pan-cancer cohorts to the translational oncology.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Integrative screening identifies functional variants and VNTRs underlying GWAS signals at the 5p15.33 multi-cancer susceptibility locus.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- A novel polymorphism in the TERT gene is associated with lower survival in male patients with melanoma.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2026Article
- Exploring the Role of Advanced MRI in Understanding Glioblastoma Biology: A Scoping Review.Cancers · 2026Review
- Molecular insight into Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia: Are TERT promoter mutations a predictive marker?Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology · 2026Article
- Retroelements in thyroid cancer: epigenetic plasticity, dedifferentiation, and therapeutic opportunities.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2026Review
- From Classical to Emerging Biomarkers of Brain and Central Nervous System Tumors. An Evidence-Based Review with a Focus on Gliomas.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Leveraging the transcriptome-phenotype relationship to guide clinical management of papillary thyroid cancer.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- 5mC and 5hmC methylation sequencing: the power of 6-base sequencing in a multiomic era.Epigenomics · 2026Review
118 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Telomerase (TERT) activation is a fundamental step in tumorigenesis. By maintaining telomere length, telomerase relieves a main barrier on cellular lifespan, enabling limitless proliferation driven by oncogenes. The recently discovered, highly recurrent mutations in the promoter of TERT are found in over 50 cancer types, and are the most common mutation in many cancers. Transcriptional activation of TERT, via promoter mutation or other mechanisms, is the rate-limiting step in production of active telomerase. Although TERT is expressed in stem cells, it is naturally silenced upon differentiation. Thus, the presence of TERT promoter mutations may shed light on whether a particular tumor arose from a stem cell or more differentiated cell type. It is becoming clear that TERT mutations occur early during cellular transformation, and activate the TERT promoter by recruiting transcription factors that do not normally regulate TERT gene expression. This review highlights the fundamental and widespread role of TERT promoter mutations in tumorigenesis, including recent progress on their mechanism of transcriptional activation. These somatic promoter mutations, along with germline variation in the TERT locus also appear to have significant value as biomarkers of patient outcome. Understanding the precise molecular mechanism of TERT activation by promoter mutation and germline variation may inspire novel cancer cell-specific targeted therapies for a large number of cancer patients.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.