# GATA6 as the marker of classical versus basal-like pancreatic cancer

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/gata6-classical-basal-marker/  
OnCo record `gata6-classical-basal-marker` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

GATA6 is the transcription factor that separates the two pancreatic cancer subtypes that survive every re-analysis: classical tumours express it, basal-like (squamous) tumours have lost it. A GATA6 stain on a biopsy can therefore call the subtype that predicts how a tumour answers first-line chemotherapy, although no guideline yet acts on the result.

## Summary

In the COMPASS study of advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, real-time whole-genome and RNA sequencing of biopsies classed tumours as classical or basal-like; basal-like tumours were 20% of 195 patients, responded to first-line chemotherapy in 10% against 33% of classical tumours, progressed on modified FOLFIRINOX in 60% against 15%, and had median overall survival of 5.9 against 9.3 months (O'Kane 2020). GATA6 expression by RNA in situ hybridisation separated the two with sensitivity 89% and specificity 83%, so a single stain can stand in for sequencing. GATA6 amplification marks the classical lineage (15 to 17% of tumours in the molecular table), and loss of GATA6 sits on a continuum with mutant KRAS dosage: purified whole genomes show classical and basal-like states as the two ends of a spectrum with about 12% of tumours hybrid and intermediate in survival (Chan-Seng-Yue 2020). The earlier COMPASS report (Aung 2018) had already shown that sequencing in the time frame of a treatment decision was feasible in 63 patients. What follows for care: no prospective subtype-directed trial has changed a guideline, so basal-like patients still receive the regimen they resist; GATA6 or a subtype classifier is used where a trial requires it (the record's open problems).

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-24
- Also known as: GATA6; GATA6 in situ hybridisation; GATA6-high; GATA6-low; GATA6 expression in pancreatic cancer
- Tags: pancreatic-molecular

## Sources

- O'Kane et al., Clin Cancer Res 2020: GATA6 and the basal-like subtype in 195 COMPASS patients: https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-19-3724
- Aung et al., Clin Cancer Res 2018: COMPASS, real-time whole-genome and RNA sequencing of 63 advanced patients: https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-17-2994
- Chan-Seng-Yue et al., Nat Genet 2020: transcription phenotypes driven by genomic events (purified whole genomes): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-019-0566-9

## Connected records

- cancers: [Locally advanced unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/locally-advanced-pdac/), [Metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/metastatic-pdac/), [Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic/)
- technologies: [RNA sequencing & expression profiling](https://onco.cc/technologies/rna-seq/)
- targets: [KRAS](https://onco.cc/targets/kras/)
- terms: [Basal-like breast cancer](https://onco.cc/terms/basal-like/), [Classical versus basal-like (squamous) subtypes of pancreatic cancer, and GATA6](https://onco.cc/terms/classical-vs-basal-like/), [COMPASS: real-time sequencing of advanced pancreatic cancer for treatment selection](https://onco.cc/terms/compass-study-pancreatic/), [KRAS allelic imbalance and mutant KRAS dosage in pancreatic cancer](https://onco.cc/terms/kras-allelic-imbalance/)
- key papers: [GATA6 expression distinguishes classical and basal-like subtypes in advanced pancreatic cancer](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-okane-gata6-basal-like-compass-ccr-2020/), [Genomics-driven precision medicine for advanced pancreatic cancer: early results from the COMPASS trial](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-aung-compass-early-results-ccr-2018/), [Transcription phenotypes of pancreatic cancer are driven by genomic events during tumor evolution](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-chan-seng-yue-pancreatic-transcription-phenotypes-nat-genet-2020/)

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