Benzinga | Mar 25, 2021 05:01PM EDT

Castle Biosciences Announces Publication It Says Demonstrates Dermatologists Are 'Increasingly Integrating DecisionDx-Melanoma Into Melanoma Clinical Management Decisions'

Cross-Sectional Study of 589 U.S. Dermatological Clinicians Demonstrating Clinical Utility Was Recently Published in SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine

Castle Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTL), a skin cancer diagnostics company providing personalized genomic information to improve cancer treatment decisions, today announced the publication of a cross-sectional study of dermatologists that found its respondents are increasingly incorporating DecisionDx(r)-Melanoma into the management of their patients with melanoma. DecisionDx-Melanoma is Castle's gene expression profile test that uses an individual patient's tumor biology to predict individual risk of cutaneous melanoma metastasis or recurrence, as well as sentinel lymph node positivity, independent of traditional staging factors.

The article, titled "Assessment of the 31-Gene Expression Profile Test by Dermatologists: A Cross-Sectional Survey from National Dermatology Conferences," was published in SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine. The cross-sectional study was offered to attendees of two national, virtual dermatology conferences during the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 to assess the professional understanding, opinions and clinical usage of DecisionDx-Melanoma by dermatologists. Participants were asked questions regarding practice demographics, factors considered prior to ordering DecisionDx-Melanoma, their integration of the test's results into clinical management and their opinions on the usefulness of the test.

Data from 589 U.S. dermatological clinicians showed:

* 45% of participants ordered the DecisionDx-Melanoma test in the prior twelve months.

* Going forward, 82% of participants were "somewhat to very likely" to order the test, with 66% stating they would recommend the test to a friend or family member as part of their melanoma care.

* In melanomas less than or equal to 1.0mm (T1), which make up the majority of melanomas, previous studies have demonstrated that a DecisionDx-Melanoma Class 1A test result (lowest risk) has a 5-year recurrence free survival rate of 96.8%, compared to 64.6% for a Class 2B test result (highest risk). 61% of participants stated they would change their treatment plan in this T1 population with a Class 2B test result.

* Participants who use DecisionDx-Melanoma indicated that they use the results to impact follow-up schedules, referrals, surveillance imaging, sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure recommendations and other treatment decisions. These uses largely follow published appropriate-use criteria for the test. Participants responded that patients gain various benefits from DecisionDx-Melanoma test results, including increased knowledge and understanding (70%), personalized treatment options (58%) and eased uncertainty about the future (59%). Even regarding test results indicating the lowest risk of recurrence (i.e. Class 1A), 66% of participants reported potential benefits for ameliorating patients' anxiety and 46% reported increasing confidence in their management. "The sample surveyed demonstrated that dermatology specialists are using DecisionDx-Melanoma in increased numbers, and concluded that melanoma patients whose healthcare providers incorporate DecisionDx-Melanoma into their practice may benefit from decreased anxiety and uncertainty from the improved prognosis, reduced need for unwarranted procedures and optimized healthcare resources for patients who need it most," said study author, Darrell Rigel, M.D., M.S., Clinical Professor at New York University School of Medicine.