Immunohistochemical evaluation of GATA-3 in patients with urinary bladder cancer

Aim: To analyze expression levels of GATA-3 in bladder tumor tissues and to prove a relation between expression of GATA-3 and clinicopathological characteristics of bladder tumors, including patient age, sex, tumor grade, and muscle invasion.

Materials and Methods: Forty formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks obtained from bladder tumor by transurethral resection are collected from teaching hospitals at Al-Najaf governorate. Those blocks are stained by using hematoxylin and eosin stain. Histopathological features were examined and then immunostained by GATA-3.

Results: Evaluation of GATA-3 expression in urothelial carcinoma, revealed GATA-3 test was (positive) in thirty-four samples of urothelial carcinoma, while GATA-3 test was (negative) in twenty-one samples of urothelial carcinoma. Correlation of GATA-3 with other variables (age, sex, and grade) was a statistically non-significant.

Conclusions: GATA-3 is an Immunohistochemical sensitive marker to diagnose urothelial carcinoma. GATA-3 expression showed non-significant relation with age, gender and histopathological parameters and its expression has been observed to be lost or reduced in substantial proportion in relation to urothelial carcinoma. This alteration or down regulation of GATA-3 is correlated with higher tumor grade and stage.