Polyclonal origin of colonic adenomas in an XO/XY patient with FAP.
Novelli MR., Williamson JA., Tomlinson IP., Elia G., Hodgson SV., Talbot IC., Bodmer WF., Wright NA.
It is widely accepted that tumors are monoclonal in origin, arising from a mutation or series of mutations in a single cell and its descendants. The clonal origin of colonic adenomas and uninvolved intestinal mucosa from an XO/XY mosaic individual with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) was examined directly by in situ hybridization with Y chromosome probes. In this patient, the crypts of the small and large intestine were clonal, but at least 76 percent of the microadenomas were polyclonal in origin.