Overexpression of an elongation factor‐1 γ‐hybridizing rna in colorectal adenomas

While it is apparent that colorectal carcinogenesis results from a series of genetic alterations manifested phenotypically by the adenoma‐to‐carcinoma sequence, the early events that occur in the process of tumorigenesis have not been elucidated. We previously demonstrated that human elongation factor‐1 (EF‐1)γ‐hybridizing RNA was overexpressed in 25 of 29 colorectal carcinomas. To determine if the overexpression of this mRNA occurs early in tumor development, we examined 25 adenomas and corresponding normal‐appearing distant mucosae from 20 patients without familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). We observed overexpression at a level of twofold or more in 14 (56%) of the 25 adenomas, indicating that overexpression of EF‐1γ RNA is often a relatively early event in the development of non‐FAP colorectal cancer.