GATA3: a multispecific but potentially useful marker in surgical pathology: a systematic analysis of 2500 epithelial and nonepithelial tumors

Abstract

GATA3 is a transcription factor important in the differentiation of breast epithelia, urothelia, and subsets of T lymphocytes. It has been suggested to be useful in the evaluation of carcinomas of mammary or urothelial origin or metastatic carcinomas, but its distribution in normal and neoplastic tissues is incompletely mapped. In this study, we examined normal developing and adult tissues and 2040 epithelial and 460 mesenchymal or neuroectodermal neoplasms for GATA3 expression to explore its diagnostic value in surgical pathology, using monoclonal antibody (clone L50-823) and Leica Bond automated immunohistochemistry. GATA3 was expressed in trophoblast, fetal and adult epidermis, adult mammary and some salivary gland and sweat gland ductal epithelia, urothelia, distal nephron in developing and adult tissues, some prostatic basal cells, and subsets of T lymphocytes. It was expressed stronger in fetal than in adult mesothelia and was absent in respiratory and gastrointestinal epithelia. In epithelial neoplasms, GATA3 was expressed in >90% of primary and metastatic ductal and lobular carcinomas of the breast, urothelial, and cutaneous basal cell carcinomas and trophoblastic and endodermal sinus tumors. In metastatic breast carcinomas, it was more sensitive than GCDFP. Among squamous cell carcinomas, the expression was highest in the skin (81%) and lower in cervical (33%), laryngeal (16%), and pulmonary tumors (12%). Common positivity was found in skin adnexal tumors (100%), mesothelioma (58%), salivary gland (43%), and pancreatic (37%) ductal carcinomas, whereas frequency of expression in adenocarcinomas of lung, stomach, colon, endometrium, ovary, and prostate was <10%. Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma was a unique renal tumor with frequent positivity (51%), whereas oncocytomas were positive in 17% of cases but other types only rarely. Among mesenchymal and neuroectodermal tumors, paragangliomas were usually positive, which sets these tumors apart from epithelial neuroendocrine tumors. Mesenchymal tumors were only sporadically positive, except epithelia of biphasic synovial sarcomas. GATA3 is a useful marker in the characterization of not only mammary and urothelial but also renal and germ cell tumors, mesotheliomas, and paragangliomas. The multiple specificities of GATA3 should be taken into account when using this marker to detect metastatic mammary or urothelial carcinomas.

Fig. 1

GATA3 expression in embryonic tissues. A 7-week embryo shows GATA3-positivity in trophoblast (A), peritoneal mesothelium (B), and skin (C). A 10-week fetus shows GATA3 expression in some renal tubuli and the glomerular mesangium (D).

Fig. 2

GATA3 expression in adult tissue. A. Epidermal cells are positive. Note also positive dermal lymphocytes. B. Luminal cells of ducts of a breast lobule a positive, whereas myoepithelial cells are negative. C. Ureteral epithelium and some stromal lymphocytes are positive. D. Distal tubular epithelial and mesangial cells are GATA3-positive.

Fig. 3

Two examples of GATA3-positive metastatic breast cancers. A, B. A ductal carcinoma with apocrine features metastatic to the brain is strongly positive. C, D. Lobular carcinoma metastatic to small intestine in highlighted as GATA3-positive.

Fig. 4

A. Examples of GATA3-positive epithelial neoplasms. Strong expression in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma B. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells show nearly uniform labeling. C. Renal chromophobe carcinoma cells are positive. D. Most cells of renal oncocytoma are positive and there is also weak cytoplasmic labeling.

Fig. 5

A malignant epithelial mesothelioma with a pseudoglomerular formation within a tubulopapillary pattern shows strong GATA3-positivity.

Fig. 6

GATA3 expression in germ cell tumors. A. Choriocarcinomas were strongly positive. B. Myometrial invasion of placental site trophoblastic tumor is positive. C. Seminomas are negative, but isolated syncytiotrophoblastic cells are highlighted. D. Endodermal sinus tumor with Schiller-Duval body in the center is strongly positive.