Study Finds Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Would Alter Patient Care Decisions Based on DecisionDx®-Melanoma Test Results
01 December 2023 - 11:00PM
Business Wire
In a survey of nurse practitioners and
physician assistants (NPs/PAs), 82.4% of respondents who use
DecisionDx-Melanoma in clinical practice stated that a high-risk
test result in a thin melanoma tumor (≤1mm) would impact their
patient treatment plan; similarly, 81.3% of test users would alter
treatment plans based on a high-risk test result in Stage 1
tumors
Castle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), a company improving
health through innovative tests that guide patient care, today
announced the publication of a study in the Journal of the Advanced
Practitioner in Oncology (JADPRO) that assessed the viewpoints of
NPs/PAs toward the clinical use of DecisionDx®-Melanoma in patients
diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma. The study found that more than
90% of the NPs/PAs who completed a survey about DecisionDx-Melanoma
believe that prognostic (i.e., risk-stratification) information
about a patient’s melanoma is valuable and improves patient care.
The study is available here.
“Historically, patients with thin or Stage 1 tumors would be
considered to be at the lowest risk of metastasis or recurrence,
based on traditional staging factors alone,” said Renata Block,
MMS, PA-C, first study author and board-certified physician
assistant at Advanced Dermatology & Aesthetic Medicine, LLC in
Chicago. “As the study data affirmed, the personalized, clinically
actionable results provided by DecisionDx-Melanoma can
significantly impact the treatment plans of patients with melanoma,
particularly in the 'low-risk' patient population when their test
results indicate aggressive tumor biology that would place them at
a higher risk of a poor outcome.”
Study methods and findings:
- NPs and PAs who attended one of three selected conferences in
2020 and 2021 were asked to complete an 18-question online survey
about their viewpoints and clinical use of
DecisionDx-Melanoma.
- Of the 369 NPs/PAs who completed the survey, 176 (47.7%)
reported using the DecisionDx-Melanoma test in the prior 12
months.
- 90.5% of the respondents felt that comprehensive prognostic
testing, such as with DecisionDx-Melanoma, improves patient
care.
- The majority of DecisionDx-Melanoma test users stated that they
used the test results to determine follow-up schedules and
referrals (78.4%), inform treatment decisions (65.9%), as part of
the decision to decision to recommend a patient receive or forego
sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) (61.9%) and inform surveillance
imaging (50.0%).
- Additionally, almost all test users would recommend use of
DecisionDx-Melanoma to a colleague (99.4%) or a friend or close
relative who had been diagnosed with melanoma (97.7%);
interestingly, most NPs/PAs who had not used DecisionDx-Melanoma
would also recommend use of the test to a colleague (81.9%) or a
friend or close relative with melanoma (62.7%).
- The value of both high-risk (Class 2B) and low-risk (Class 1A)
DecisionDx-Melanoma test results were reported by all of the
NPs/PAs who completed the survey (test users and non-users):
- Most (62.1%) reported that a high-risk DecisionDx-Melanoma test
result would alter their treatment plan for a patient with a thin
tumor (≤1mm). Similarly, more than half of all respondents (58.8%)
stated that a high-risk test result would alter their treatment
plans for patients with a Stage 1 tumor.
- When asked if there was value in a T1 patient receiving a
low-risk result (i.e., test results confirming a low-risk tumor
according to clinicopathologic staging), 74.5% indicated that
patients would benefit from relief of uncertainty about their
cancer, and 56.9% responded that providers would benefit from more
confidence in their chosen treatment plan.
About DecisionDx®-Melanoma
DecisionDx-Melanoma is a gene expression profile risk
stratification test. It is designed to inform two clinical
questions in the management of cutaneous melanoma: a patient’s
individual risk of sentinel lymph node (SLN) positivity and a
patient's personal risk of melanoma recurrence and/or metastasis.
By integrating tumor biology with clinical and pathologic factors
using a validated proprietary algorithm, DecisionDx-Melanoma is
designed to provide a comprehensive and clinically actionable
result to guide risk-aligned patient care. DecisionDx-Melanoma has
been shown to be associated with improved patient survival and has
been studied in more than 10,000 patient samples.
DecisionDx-Melanoma’s clinical value is supported by more than 40
peer-reviewed and published studies, providing confidence in
disease management plans that incorporate the test’s results.
Through Sept. 30, 2023, DecisionDx-Melanoma has been ordered more
than 146,000 times for patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma.
More information about the test and disease can be found at
www.CastleTestInfo.com.
About Castle Biosciences
Castle Biosciences (Nasdaq: CSTL) is a leading diagnostics
company improving health through innovative tests that guide
patient care. The Company aims to transform disease management by
keeping people first: patients, clinicians, employees and
investors.
Castle’s current portfolio consists of tests for skin cancers,
uveal melanoma, Barrett’s esophagus and mental health conditions.
Additionally, the Company has active research and development
programs for tests in other diseases with high clinical need,
including its test in development to help guide systemic therapy
selection for patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis,
psoriasis and related conditions. To learn more, please visit
www.CastleBiosciences.com and connect with us on LinkedIn,
Facebook, X and Instagram.
DecisionDx-Melanoma, DecisionDx-CMSeq, DecisionDx-SCC, MyPath
Melanoma, DecisionDx-UM, DecisionDx-PRAME, DecisionDx-UMSeq,
TissueCypher and IDgenetix are trademarks of Castle Biosciences,
Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those
sections. These forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, statements concerning: (i) the ability of our
DecisionDx-Melanoma test to alter patient care decisions and
significantly impact, inform and/or alter patient treatment plans,
including follow-up schedule and referrals, overall treatment
decisions, SLNB recommendations and surveillance imaging; (ii)
whether users would recommend use of DecisionDx-Melanoma to a
colleague, friend or close relative; and (iii) whether
DecisionDx-Melanoma test results would allow patients to benefit
from relief of uncertainty about their cancer, and/or providers to
benefit from more confidence in their chosen treatment plan. The
words “can,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to
identify forward-looking statements, although not all
forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. We may
not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations
disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not
place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual
results or events could differ materially from the plans,
intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking
statements that we make. These forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation: subsequent study or trial results
and findings may contradict earlier study or trial results and
findings or may not support the results shown in this study,
including with respect to the discussion of DecisionDx-Melanoma in
this press release; actual application of our DecisionDx-Melanoma
test may not provide the aforementioned benefits to patients; and
the risks set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30,
2023, and in our other filings with the SEC. The forward-looking
statements are applicable only as of the date on which they are
made, and we do not assume any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231201787516/en/
Investor Contact: Camilla Zuckero
czuckero@castlebiosciences.com
Media Contact: Allison Marshall
amarshall@castlebiosciences.com
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