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Castle Biosciences Announces Study Establishing the Value of Integrating DecisionDx-SCC Test into Management of High-Risk Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Data presented at the 2020 Winter Clinical Dermatology Conference FRIENDSWOOD, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Castle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), a skin
About this update from Castle Biosciences, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nData presented at the 2020 Winter Clinical Dermatology Conference\n\n FRIENDSWOOD, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nCastle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), a skin cancer diagnostics company providing personalized genomic information to improve cancer treatment decisions, today announced the presentation of clinical utility data for its cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) prognostic test, DecisionDx®-SCC, for patients diagnosed with high-risk cutaneous SCC. The test is expected to be launched commercially in the second half of 2020.\n\n\nThe poster titled, “Integrating the 40-Gene Expression Profile (40-GEP) Test into Management of High-Risk Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma,” was presented during the 2020 Winter Clinical Dermatology Conference, January 17-22 in Hawaii.\n\n\nThe data presented support a framework for integration of DecisionDx-SCC into risk-appropriate management of high-risk cutaneous SCC patients (as defined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network [NCCN]).\n\n\nDisease and Study Background\n\n\n\nApproximately 1 million patients are diagnosed with cutaneous SCC in the U.S. each year, and the incidence continues to grow.\n\n\nAs with other cancer types, NCCN guidelines define treatment pathways based on risk of metastasis. In the case of cutaneous SCC, there are two clinicopathologically defined categories: low-risk and high-risk.\n\n\nThe Company believes two important issues exist in implementing a high-risk treatment pathway. First, the NCCN risk criteria, as well as available staging systems, have low positive predictive value (PPV) – meaning that the majority of high-risk patients do not develop metastasis; and, second, the high-risk treatment pathways are broad.\n\n\nThe clinical implication being that many patients categorized as high risk, but who have a low biological risk of metastasis, may be overtreated with radiation, chemotherapy or other interventions; and those patients categorized as high risk and who also have a high biological risk of metastasis may be undertreated if clinical decisions are to follow a conservative treatment plan within the broad boundaries of NCCN high-risk pathways.\n\n\nThe Company believes improved stratification for implementation of risk-appropriate treatment plans for patients within NCCN-defined high-risk cutaneous SCC is needed. NCCN defines high risk as cutaneous...