GATA3 Expression in Human Tumors: A Tissue Microarray Study on 16,557 Tumors.

INTRODUCTION: GATA3 is a transcription factor involved in epithelial cell differentiation. GATA3 immunostaining is used as a diagnostic marker for breast and urothelial cancer but can also occur in other neoplasms. METHODS: To evaluate GATA3 in normal and tumor tissues, a tissue microarray containing 16,557 samples from 131 different tumor types and subtypes and 608 samples of 76 different normal tissue types was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: GATA3 positivity was found in 69 different tumor types including 23 types (18%) with at least one strongly positive tumor. Highest positivity rates occurred in noninvasive papillary urothelial carcinoma (92-99%), lobular carcinoma (98%), carcinoma of no special type of the breast (92%), basal cell carcinoma of the skin (97%), invasive urothelial carcinoma (73%), T-cell lymphoma (23%), adenocarcinoma of the salivary gland (16%), squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (16%), and colorectal neuroendocrine carcinoma (12%). In breast cancer, low GATA3 staining was linked to high pT stage (p = 0.03), high BRE grade (p < 0.0001), HER2 overexpression (p = 0.0085), estrogen and progesterone receptor negativity (p < 0.0001 each), and reduced survival (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that GATA3 positivity can occur in various tumor entities. Low levels of GATA3 reflect cancer progression and poor patient prognosis in breast cancer.

Evaluation of polymerase chain reaction and culture for diagnosis of pertussis in the control of a county-wide outbreak focused among adolescents and adults.

During a large pertussis outbreak, culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to identify 149 case patients; of these case patients, 79 had positive PCR and culture results, 59 had positive PCR results and negative culture results, 11 had negative PCR results and positive culture results (10 PCR-negative, culture-positive specimens were collected < or = 14 days after illness onset). PCR and culture of samples obtained < or = 2 weeks after illness onset and PCR of samples obtained > 2 weeks after illness onset proved to be most diagnostically useful.

A countywide outbreak of pertussis: initial transmission in a high school weight room with subsequent substantial impact on adolescents and adults.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a large communitywide pertussis outbreak where aggressive diagnostic and treatment measures were used to control the outbreak. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis, May 2003 through February 2004. SETTING: Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin (population 98,882). PARTICIPANTS: Health department personnel conducted case and contact investigations of suspected outbreak-associated illnesses using standard pertussis reporting forms and clinical evaluation and management protocols. Persons with compatible illness were tested for Bordetella pertussis using culture and for B pertussis DNA using polymerase chain reaction. Cases were classified using Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists definitions. INTERVENTIONS: Health alerts and aggressive testing and treatment of suspected cases of pertussis illness and contact prophylaxis in the community. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidences by age, onsets over time, and vaccine coverage in case patients. RESULTS: We identified 261 pertussis cases among county residents; 149 (57%) were laboratory confirmed. Of the first 57 case patients, 47% reported using a particular high school weight room. Pertussis incidence was high in all age groups; 86% of case patients were 10 years or older. Among 156 case patients with reported vaccination histories, 84% had received 5 or more doses of pertussis-containing vaccine. Adults reported significantly more severe pertussis symptoms than adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Pertussis transmission among adolescents using a school weight room instigated a countywide outbreak with substantial incidence and morbidity among adolescents and adults. Aggressive testing and treatment in the outbreak response likely contributed to a sharp reduction in cases. This labor- and resource-intensive outbreak highlights potential benefits of pertussis booster vaccination among adolescent and adult populations.