GATA3 Expression in Human Tumors: A Tissue Microarray Study on 16,557 Tumors

Introduction: GATA3 is a transcription factor involved in epithelial cell differentiation. GATA3 immunostaining is used as a diagnostic marker for breast and urothelial cancer but can also occur in other neoplasms. Methods: To evaluate GATA3 in normal and tumor tissues, a tissue microarray containing 16,557 samples from 131 different tumor types and subtypes and 608 samples of 76 different normal tissue types was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Results: GATA3 positivity was found in 69 different tumor types including 23 types (18%) with at least one strongly positive tumor. Highest positivity rates occurred in noninvasive papillary urothelial carcinoma (92-99%), lobular carcinoma (98%), carcinoma of no special type of the breast (92%), basal cell carcinoma of the skin (97%), invasive urothelial carcinoma (73%), T-cell lymphoma (23%), adenocarcinoma of the salivary gland (16%), squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (16%), and colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma (12%). In breast cancer, low GATA3 staining was linked to high pT stage (p = 0.03), high BRE grade (p < 0.0001), HER2 overexpression (p = 0.0085), estrogen and progesterone receptor negativity (p < 0.0001 each), and reduced survival (p = 0.03). Conclusion: Our data demonstrate that GATA3 positivity can occur in various tumor entities. Low levels of GATA3 reflect cancer progression and poor patient prognosis in breast cancer.

Automated summary

GATA3 is a transcription factor involved in cell differentiation and can be used as a diagnostic marker for breast and urothelial cancer. The study analyzed samples from 131 tumor types and subtypes and 76 normal tissue types, finding GATA3 positivity in various tumor entities. In breast cancer, low GATA3 levels were associated with advanced stage, high grade, hormone receptor negativity, and reduced survival.