Castle Biosciences' Melanoma Gene Expression Profile Test to be Subject of Presentation at American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting

FRIENDSWOOD, Texas, May 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Castle Biosciences Inc. announced today that abstracts reporting additional clinical validation data for two of its molecular tests -- one focused on melanoma and the other on esophageal adenocarcinoma -- will be presented at the 50^th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, May 30-June 3, 2014. Data presented at ASCO will show significant advances for these tests that address important unmet clinical needs.

In cutaneous melanoma, sentinel lymph node (SLN) positivity has been the standard for identifying patients who are at high risk for metastasis, yet two of three melanoma patients who metastasize will be sentinel lymph node negative.

"The initial clinical goal for our melanoma gene expression profile test was to identify these two out of three patients who are at high risk for metastasis, regardless of SLN biopsy eligibility," commented Derek Maetzold, President and CEO of Castle Biosciences. "At ASCO we will present data that focus on a cohort of patients who received both our gene expression profile test and a SLN biopsy, and confirm our initial validation study results."

Cutaneous Melanoma Test

Poster Highlights Presentation: "Gene expression profile test (GEP) prediction of metastasis‐free (MFS) and overall survival (OS) in a cohort of cutaneous melanoma (CM) patients undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB)" (Abstract # 9022)

• Lead Author: David H. Lawson M.D., Professor of Hematology & Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University
• Poster Time: Monday, June 2, 2014, 8 AM – 12:45 PM CDT
• Poster Highlights Time: Monday, June 2, 2014, 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM CDT
• Session: Melanoma/Skin Cancers

Esophageal Cancer Test

Poster Presentation: "A proprietary multi-analyte test to predict neoadjuvant treatment response for esophageal and rectal adenocarcinoma patients" (Abstract # 4085)

• Lead Author: Sunil S. Badve, M.D., FRCPath, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine
• Poster Time: Saturday, May 31, 2014, 8:00 AM – 11:45 AM CDT
• General Poster Session: Gastrointestinal (Noncolorectal) Cancer

The majority of ASCO Annual Meeting abstracts are now available on ASCO's website at www.asco.org.

Exhibit Booth 

Also at the ASCO meeting, attendees will be able to visit the Castle Biosciences exhibit (Booth # 20137) to learn more about the DecisionDx-Melanoma gene expression profile test and the DecisionDx-EC multi-analyte test for esophageal cancer, as well as the DecisionDx-Thymoma test and the newly available DecisionDx-Mesothelioma test.

About Melanoma

Cutaneous melanoma is diagnosed in approximately 76,000 people in the U.S. each year, according to the American Cancer Society. Seventy-five percent are diagnosed as Stage I or II, meaning there is no evidence of the melanoma spreading beyond the primary tumor. Melanoma is not the most prevalent form of skin cancer, but it is the most aggressive. Unlike other more common skin malignancies like basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, melanoma often spreads to other parts of the body, either via the lymphatic or blood system, resulting in cancers of distant organs including the brain or lungs. While it represents just 4% of skin cancers, melanoma accounts for about 80% of skin cancer-related deaths. More information is available at www.skinmelanoma.com

About Esophageal Cancer

The esophagus carries food and liquid from the mouth to the stomach. There are two main types of esophageal cancer: adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The most common form of the disease in the U.S. is adenocarcinoma and is most prevalent in Caucasian men between the ages of 50 and 70. Adenocarcinoma, which is one of the fastest growing cancers in the country, has also been linked to obesity – perhaps related to chronic exposure to stomach acid. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 18,000 Americans were diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2013. More information can be found at www.myesophagealcancer.com  

About Castle Biosciences

Castle Biosciences is a molecular diagnostics and prognostics company dedicated to helping patients and physicians make optimal decisions regarding treatment and follow-up care based on the tumor's unique molecular signature. The Company currently offers prognostic tests for patients with rare cancers including uveal and cutaneous melanoma, esophageal, thymoma and brain cancers as well as malignant pleural mesothelioma. More information can be found at www.castlebiosciences.com.  

SOURCE Castle Biosciences