GATA3 plays an integral role in breast
luminal cell differentiation and is implicated in
breast cancer progression. GATA3 immunohistochemistry is a useful marker of
breast cancer; however, its use in specific subtypes is unclear. Here, we evaluate GATA3 expression in 86 invasive
ductal carcinomas including triple-negative, Her-2, and
luminal subtypes, in addition to 13 metaplastic
carcinomas and in 34
fibroepithelial neoplasms. In addition, we report GATA3 expression in matched primary and metastatic
breast carcinomas in 30 patients with known
estrogen receptor (ER),
progesterone receptor (PR), and Her-2 status, including 5 with ER and/or PR loss from primary to
metastasis. Tissue microarrays containing 5 to 10 cores per
tumor were stained for GATA3, scored as follows: 0 (0-5%), 1+ (6%-25%), 2+ (26%-50%), 3+ (51%-75%), and 4+ (>75%). GATA3 labeling was seen in 67% (66/99) of primary
ductal carcinomas including 43% of triple-negative and 54% of metaplastic
carcinomas. In contrast, stromal GATA3 labeling was seen in only 1
fibroepithelial neoplasm. GATA3 labeling was seen in 90% (27/30) of primary
breast carcinomas in the paired cohort, including 67% of triple-negative
carcinomas. GATA3 labeling was overwhelmingly maintained in paired
metastases. Notably, GATA3 was maintained in all "
luminal loss"
metastases, which showed ER and/or PR loss. In conclusion, GATA3 expression is maintained between matched primary and metastatic
carcinomas including ER-negative cases. GATA3 can be particularly useful as a marker for metastatic
breast carcinoma, especially triple-negative and metaplastic
carcinomas, which lack specific markers of mammary origin. Finally, GATA3 labeling may help distinguish metaplastic
carcinoma from malignant
phyllodes tumors.