{"entity":{"id":"elf3","kind":"target","name":"ELF3","aka":["E74 like ETS transcription factor 3","ETS-related transcription factor Elf-3","EPR-1","ESE-1"],"tldr":"ELF3 (ETS-related transcription factor Elf-3) is a protein that switches other genes on and off. The public catalogues list it as an oncogene driver and a tumour suppressor, and it is called a cancer driver by mutation analysis of patient cohorts. Tied to Bladder & urothelial cancer, Colorectal cancer and Biliary tract cancer.","summary":"Transcriptional activator that binds and transactivates ETS sequences containing the consensus nucleotide core sequence GGA[AT]. Acts synergistically with POU2F3 to transactivate the SPRR2A promoter and with RUNX1 to transactivate the ANGPT1 promoter. Also transactivates collagenase, CCL20, CLND7, FLG, KRT8, NOS2, PTGS2, SPRR2B, TGFBR2 and TGM3 promoters.\n\nOpen Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.61 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes literature 0.98, animal model 0.27, genetic association 0.06, somatic mutation 0.78). IntOGen calls it a driver in 9 cohorts (4 activating, 4 loss-of-function), covering Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma, Cholangiocarcinoma, Colorectal Adenocarcinoma.","asOf":"2026-09-23","links":[{"label":"HGNC HGNC:3318","url":"https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:3318"},{"label":"UniProt P78545","url":"https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P78545/entry"},{"label":"NCBI Gene 1999","url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/1999"},{"label":"Ensembl ENSG00000163435","url":"https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000163435"}],"tags":["cancer-genes-wave"],"related":["open-targets","intogen"],"cancers":["urothelial","colorectal","cholangiocarcinoma","gallbladder"],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":["paper-nakamura-biliary-genomic-spectra-nat-genet-2015","paper-pandey-gallbladder-elf3-nat-commun-2020"],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":["Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: IntOGen calls it an activating (Act) driver in 4 cohorts; IntOGen calls it a loss-of-function (LoF) driver in 4 cohorts. Evidence tier \"cohort-driver\" is the strongest of those signals.","Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.","Gallbladder cancer: most ELF3 alterations are frameshifts that generate T-cell-activating neoantigens, proposed as vaccine candidates (Pandey 2020)."],"provenance":{"editedBy":"scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts (CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC, UniProt)","editedOn":"2026-09-23"},"symbol":"ELF3","role":["oncogene-driver","tumour-suppressor"],"evidenceTier":"cohort-driver","sources":[{"label":"HGNC HGNC:3318","url":"https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:3318","note":"approved symbol, name, aliases, locus and cross-references (hgnc_complete_set.txt)"},{"label":"UniProt P78545","url":"https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P78545/entry","note":"protein name, function text, keywords and locations (REST API)"},{"label":"Open Targets ENSG00000163435","url":"https://platform.opentargets.org/target/ENSG00000163435/associations","note":"association with cancer (MONDO_0004992) 0.61; per-cancer scores at or above 0.5: urinary bladder cancer 0.56 (GraphQL API, CC0)"},{"label":"IntOGen ELF3","url":"https://www.intogen.org/search?gene=ELF3","note":"driver in 9 cohorts (Act 4, LoF 4); Compendium_Cancer_Genes.tsv release 20240920, CC0 1.0"}],"specificitySources":[],"hgnc":"HGNC:3318","ensembl":"ENSG00000163435","uniprot":"P78545","entrez":"1999","firstDescribed":1997,"firstDescribedBasis":"sequence","firstDescribedNote":"Earliest sequence paper UniProt cites for the protein: Oettgen et al, Mol. Cell. Biol, 1997, \"Isolation and characterization of a novel epithelium-specific transcription factor, ESE-1, a member of the ets family\".","firstDescribedSource":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9234700/","biology":"Transcriptional activator that binds and transactivates ETS sequences containing the consensus nucleotide core sequence GGA[AT]. Acts synergistically with POU2F3 to transactivate the SPRR2A promoter and with RUNX1 to transactivate the ANGPT1 promoter. Also transactivates collagenase, CCL20, CLND7, FLG, KRT8, NOS2, PTGS2, SPRR2B, TGFBR2 and TGM3 promoters. Represses KRT4 promoter activity. Involved in mediating vascular inflammation. May play an important role in epithelial cell differentiation and tumorigenesis. Location: Cytoplasm; Nucleus (UniProt). Locus 1q32.1 (HGNC).","whereFound":["Bladder & urothelial cancer: Open Targets association 0.56 with urinary bladder cancer (MONDO_0001187); IntOGen driver in 6 cohorts (BLCA)","Colorectal cancer: IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (COADREAD)","Biliary tract cancer: IntOGen driver in 2 cohorts (CHOL)","Gallbladder cancer: frameshift and truncating mutation about 9%"],"targetClass":"transcription","prevalence":[{"cancerId":"gallbladder","pct":9,"measure":"Frameshift and truncating mutation","source":"https://www.cbioportal.org/study/summary?id=gbc_mskcc_2022","note":"Mutation in 21 of 244 samples, 8.6%, in cBioPortal gbc_mskcc_2022; a significantly altered gene across 260 biliary cancers (Nakamura 2015) and across 167 gallbladder cancers, where most alterations were frameshifts yielding T-cell-activating neoantigens (Pandey 2020)."}]},"route":"/targets/elf3/","neighbours":{"collection":[{"id":"intogen","kind":"collection","name":"IntOGen","route":"/collections/intogen/"},{"id":"open-targets","kind":"collection","name":"Open Targets Platform","route":"/collections/open-targets/"}],"cancer":[{"id":"cholangiocarcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Biliary tract cancer (cholangiocarcinoma)","route":"/cancers/cholangiocarcinoma/"},{"id":"urothelial","kind":"cancer","name":"Bladder & urothelial cancer","route":"/cancers/urothelial/"},{"id":"colorectal","kind":"cancer","name":"Colorectal cancer","route":"/cancers/colorectal/"},{"id":"gallbladder","kind":"cancer","name":"Gallbladder cancer","route":"/cancers/gallbladder/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-nakamura-biliary-genomic-spectra-nat-genet-2015","kind":"paper","name":"Genomic spectra of biliary tract cancer","route":"/key-papers/paper-nakamura-biliary-genomic-spectra-nat-genet-2015/"},{"id":"paper-pandey-gallbladder-elf3-nat-commun-2020","kind":"paper","name":"Integrated genomic analysis reveals mutated ELF3 as a potential gallbladder cancer vaccine candidate","route":"/key-papers/paper-pandey-gallbladder-elf3-nat-commun-2020/"}]}}