Abstract
5034 Background: Approximately 50% of ovarian tumors have copy number increases in chromsome20q. The 20q ovarian amplicon has yet to be precisely mapped, but is known to include part of 20q12 and 20q13. Elongation Factor 1 alpha 2 gene (EEF1A2) maps to 20q13.3 and encodes protein elongation factor 1 alpha 2 (eEF1A2). eEF1A2 mRNA is not detectable in normal ovarian epithelium but may be aberrantly expressed in human ovarian tumors. This overexpression might lead to an inhibition of apoptosis, a process that could plausibly contribute to neoplastic progression. The aim of this study was to examine the expression of EEF1A2 in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), and correlate with clinico-pathologic characteristics. Methods: One step RT-PCR was performed with cDNA from various normal tissues, with mRNA from 91 epithelial ovarian tumor tissues. eEF1A2 specific PCR product was amplified using eEF1A2 specific primers. GAPDH specific PCR amplification was used as control. The χ2 test was used to analyze the distribution of eEF1A2 expression and clinico-pathologic variables (stage, residual tumor, recurrence, disease free interval, and overall survival). Survival probabilities were estimated by Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Low level eEF1A2 m-RNA expression was restricted only to the normal tissues of the heart, brain, and skeletal muscle. eEF1A2 was not seen in normal ovarian tissue. eEF1A2 m-RNA expression was demonstrated in 21/91 (23%) of the ovarian cancer specimens. The median follow-up for the patient population was 23 months. There was a correlation between eEF1A2 expression and recurrence risk (likelihood ratio 6.9; p=0.03). The difference in median survival for eEF1A2 positive and negative patients was not statistically significant. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicates eEF1A2 expression to be a non-significant predictor of overall survival. Conclusions: Our data demonstrates that eEF1A2 is expressed at moderate frequency in patients with EOC. eEF1A2 expression also appears to be associated with increased risk for recurrence of disease. This data provides a new potential prognostic marker and oncogene for EOC, and may lead to the study of eEF1A2 as a suitable target for anticancer targeted therapy. No significant financial relationships to disclose.
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