Expression of B-cell-specific Moloney murine leukemia virus integration site-1 and GATA binding protein-3 in invasive breast carcinoma among Egyptian women and their correlation to molecular subtypes

Background Expression of BMI1 and GATA3 in the breast can provide complementary prognostic implications as BMI1 is often a marker of stemness and tumor progression, while GATA3 positivity can provide a better prognosis and a more differentiated tumor state. Materials and methods Seventy cases of invasive breast carcinoma were tested for BMI1 and GATA3 immunohistochemical expression. Moreover, histopathological features and ER, PR, HER2-status, including available chromogenic in situ hybridization and Ki67 results, molecular subclassification were evaluated. Results BMI1 and GATA3 were expressed in 72.9 and 77.1 of our cases, respectively. However, no statistically significant correlation was observed between the expression of both markers and tumor stage, histological subtype, lymphovascular or perineural invasion, or molecular subtype. Conclusion The complementary, combined applications of BMI1–GATA3 immunostaining failed to be a prognostic factor among Egyptian breast cancer females. Identifying differences between populations and their response to anticancer drugs would help predict potential resistance to chemotherapy and thus help select the most suitable anticancer treatment. Therefore, additional studies are necessary to definitively evaluate the clinical utility of the combination of CSC marker BMI1 and GATA3 in breast cancer.