Press release
Landmark Study Shows Combination of Castle Biosciences' DecisionDx®-UM and PRAME Outperforms Gene Mutation Analysis in Predicting Survival Outcomes in Uveal Melanoma
FRIENDSWOOD, Texas, Dec. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Castle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), a company improving health through innovative tests that guide
About this update from Castle Biosciences, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"FRIENDSWOOD, Texas, Dec. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Castle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), a company improving health through innovative tests that guide patient care, today announced new data from the largest prospective, multicenter study to date comparing next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based gene mutation analysis with the combination of DecisionDx-UM and Preferentially Expressed Antigen in Melanoma (PRAME) gene expression for predicting outcomes in patients with uveal melanoma (UM). The study, titled “Early Genetic Evolution of Driver Mutations in Uveal Melanoma,” was conducted by the Collaborative Ocular Oncology Group (COOG) and recently published in Nature Communications. \"The recently published COOG2 study validated that combining DecisionDx-UM test results and PRAME gene expression data provides more precise metastatic risk prediction for patients with UM than either test used independently,\" said J. William Harbour, M.D., ocular oncologist, and professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.1 \"Our latest research builds on these findings and shows that the combination of DecisionDx-UM and PRAME delivers superior predictions of metastasis-free survival and overall survival compared to NGS-based mutation analysis. While gene mutation analysis remains valuable for other purposes, such as confirming tumor sampling quality and identifying patients for appropriate clinical trials, the DecisionDx-UM + PRAME combination offers the most comprehensive risk stratification available to guide more informed treatment pathway decisions for patients with UM.” UM is a rare but aggressive eye cancer with a high risk of metastasis, often leading to fatal outcomes. Notably, UM tumors are most likely to spread when they are still small, making them difficult to distinguish from benign lesions during early detection. This study aimed to better understand the genetic changes that drive the progression from benign nevi to malignant melanoma at the molecular level. Researchers analyzed 1,140 primary UM tumors, including 131 small, early-stage tumors, using NGS to assess seven clusters of recurrent genetic mutations. They then compared the predictive accuracy of these mutations with the combined DecisionDx-UM + PRAME result in assessing metastatic risk. Key findings of the study inclu...