Information on GATA 3+ Cancer

maryc58
maryc58 Member Posts: 1

Hello Friends,

Thank you for accepting me in the group.

I am ER+, HER2+ and GATA3 +. I was recently diagnosed (December 12, 2022) with Stage 4 Breast cancer with metastasis to Bones, lymph nodes and spleen.

My chemotherapy regimen includes Trastuzumab(once every 3 weeks), Paclitaxel (every week) and Zoledronic acid (every month).

I am having side effects like motions, vomiting sensations, have lost my hair.

I want to know what is GATA 3 + because my oncologist did not properly explain to me and I feel quite week and I am unable to go to another oncologist.

Hence thought of reaching out in this group to find out if other friends in this group might know. I googled GATA 3 but I did not understand as they were medical terminologies which I do not understand.

I will be grateful for information provided.

Kindly let me know if I can be of any help.

Regards,

M

Comments

  • zipmonk
    zipmonk Member Posts: 23

    I also have GATA 3 and from what I can understand it is a good thing to have and seems to make the cancer grow more slowly which has been the case for me. I’ve been metastatic since 2017.

  • moderators
    moderators Posts: 8,736

    Hi @maryc58 and @zipmonk,

    We are doing some research to add some info to our site on this prognostic factor, but here is some more information, in case you find it helpful:

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18268121/

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/2625

    https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncy.21393

    We hope this helps and we'll be sure to update you once we have some info posted on our site!

    —The Mods

  • cure-ious
    cure-ious Member Posts: 2,923
    edited November 11

    Maryc58, GATA3 has been seen to be elevated and is an additional driver of triple-positive MBC; so although your initial (and maybe many lines of successful treatments) will focus on anti-estrogen and anti-Her2 therapies, it would be worth keeping an eye out for trials with GATA3 inhibitors, because these can be another line of targeted therapy available to you before considering chemos. Also these tumors sometimes later develop PI3KCA mutations, for which there are new therapies, so do pay attention to the mutations because they can extend your time on targeted therapy.

    Here is a recent paper on GATA3 in triple positive cancers:

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39090342/

  • zipmonk
    zipmonk Member Posts: 23

    thanks for the information. I saw the first article you sent is from 2008 and I read more recent information that says for ER + HER2- tumors having GATA3 does slow down cancer. Will see if I can find it again and will post for your review.

  • zipmonk
    zipmonk Member Posts: 23

    I can’t even begin to understand this one but seems to contradict study I just posted above?

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36996051/

  • cure-ious
    cure-ious Member Posts: 2,923
    edited November 11

    Zipmonk- Research moves along quickly, so note that whereas the 2008 studies are looking at breast cancer generally, the 2024 study I mention above specifically looks at the triple-positive cancers, and there they do see higher levels of the GATA3 transcription factor and can link that to a worse survival, showing that this subset is different from breast cancer in general. As has also been seen in some lymphoid cancers that have high GATA3, they also say these cancers can have a tougher microenvironment for the immune system to get at, making the argument that therapies should be targeting this mutation, or that targeting it might make immunotherapy work better, etc. Triple-positive cancers are already well responsive to Her2 and anti-estrogen therapies, and new Her2 vaccines are coming along fast, and the new paper suggests they may also benefit from existing anti-GATA3 drugs that are used in other diseases, or other strategies to block the GATA3 pathway.

    But also, at this point its a research paper setting out a hypothesis, ie something to test and see if GATA3 is actually relevant in people with triple-positive cancers…