Since telomerase has been recognized as a relevant factor distinguishing cancer 
cells from normal cells, it has become a very promising target for anti-cancer 
therapy. A correlation between short telomere length and increased mortality was 
revealed in many studies. The telomerase expression/activity appears to be one 
of the most crucial factors to study to improve cancer therapy and prevention. 
However, this multisubunit enzymatic complex can be regulated at various levels. 
Thus, several strategies have been proposed to control telomerase in cancer 
cells such as anti-sense technology against TR and TERT, ribozymes against TERT, 
anti-estrogens, progesterone, vitamin D, retinoic acid, quadruplex stabilizers, 
telomere and telomerase targeting agents, modulation of interaction with other 
proteins involved in the regulation of telomerase and telomeres, etc. However, 
the transcription control of key telomerase subunits seems to play the crucial 
role in whole complexes activity and cancer cells immortality. Thus, the 
research of telomerase regulation can bring significant insight into the 
knowledge concerning stem cells metabolism but also ageing. This review 
summarizes the current state of knowledge of numerous telomerase regulation 
mechanisms at the transcription level in human that might become attractive 
anti-cancer therapy targets.