Evaluation of GATA6 expression as a biomarker in advanced pancreatic cancer: Real-world evidence study.

Abstract

e16393 Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is an aggressive disease and ranks as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Recent studies have linked pancreatic malignancy closely to GATA6 expression. Indicating more favorable prognosis and better outcome with chemotherapy in tumors with high GATA6 expression. Methods: Between 2017 and 2023, we had a total of 175 patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Based on immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis, the eligible patients were divided into two groups according to their GATA6 expression: high and low GATA6 expression. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) between the two groups, and the secondary endpoint included progression-free survival (PFS) and response to chemotherapy. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess OS, PFS and response to chemotherapy. Results: out of the175 medical records reviewed, 41 patients were eligible for the study. The patients were stratified according to their GATA6 expression into high and low based on IHC results. Among these, 15 patients had high GATA6 expression while 26 patients had low GATA6 expression. Median follow up time was 14 months. The median OS was 18 months in the high GATA6 group compared to 13 months in the low GATA6 group, (95% CI, 9.7 to 18.2) with P value of 0.20. Median PFS was 13 months in the high GATA6 group and 11 months in the low GATA6 group, (95% CI, 9 to 14.9) with P Value of 0.92. Treatment response was observed in 13 patients (68.4%) in the high GATA6 expression group compared with 12 patients (54.5%) in the low GATA6 expression group with P value of 0.34. Conclusions: Patients with high GATA 6 expression demonestrated a trend toward improved survival, and a more favorable response to chemotherapy; however, these differences did not reach statistical significance, highlights the need for further investigations in larger, well-powered studies.