SALT LAKE CITY, March 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) announced today that a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology demonstrated that its Prolaris test, which analyzes the expression level of 46 cell cycle progression genes, accurately predicted the elevated risk for prostate cancer recurrence in 413 men who had undergone a radical prostatectomy. The study entitled "Validation of a panel of cell cycle progression genes for improved risk-stratification in a contemporary radical prostatectomy cohort," concluded that the Prolaris test effectively stratified men by risk of biochemical recurrence.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and Myriad Genetics, found that 100% of patients in the study with low-risk Prolaris scores did not have any recurrence of their prostate cancer within the five year study period. However, prostate cancer did recur in 50% of the patients in the study with high-risk Prolaris scores. Importantly, the Prolaris test was found to more accurately predict the risk of prostate cancer recurrence than current clinical parameters used in risk assessment. The authors concluded that the findings may help healthcare providers make better informed decisions regarding treatment of patients following radical prostatectomy.
Following the publication of this study in JCO, Prolaris will have published, peer reviewed data incorporating four major studies and over 1,500 patients. In all four studies, researchers were able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Prolaris test as a prognostic tool for predicting the risk of recurrence and prostate cancer survival across a variety of tissue formats. Survival and disease recurrence are the gold standard end points for cancer clinical trials and provide the physicians with actionable information that may guide treatment decisions.
"Myriad's Prolaris test is the only test on the market that has consistently demonstrated prognostic value in both pre and post prostatectomy settings," said Jerry Lanchbury Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Myriad Genetics Inc. "The Prolaris test provides physicians and patients with a better risk assessment tool to predict which men are more likely to have recurrence of their disease even after undergoing aggressive treatment such as a radical prostatectomy."
Current treatment practice for patients following prostatectomy is to only monitor those patients until biochemical recurrence has occurred. Since no additional treatment such as chemotherapy is typically provided, an aggressive cancer will frequently progress resulting in life threatening metastasis. Approximately 30% of patients will experience cancer recurrence after treatment. Knowing which patients have an increased risk for biochemical recurrence may allow physicians to treat their patients more aggressively in the adjuvant setting with radiation or one of the new chemotherapies specifically targeting prostate cancer.
About Prolaris
Prolaris is a genomic risk stratification test developed to aid physicians in predicting prostate cancer aggressiveness in conjunction with clinical parameters such as Gleason score and PSA. Prolaris is a direct molecular measure of prostate cancer tumor biology. By measuring the expression levels of genes involved with cancer proliferation, Prolaris is able to more accurately predict disease progression and enable physicians to better define a treatment/monitoring strategy for their patients. Prolaris has been studied in over 3,000 patients and has consistently demonstrated superior prognostic value than clinical parameters currently used. Prolaris provides unique additional information that can be combined with other clinical factors to make the most accurate prediction of a patient's cancer aggressiveness and therefore disease progression.
About Myriad Genetics
Myriad Genetics is a leading molecular diagnostic company dedicated to making a difference in patients' lives through the discovery and commercialization of transformative tests to assess a person's risk of developing disease, guide treatment decisions and assess risk of disease progression and recurrence. Myriad's portfolio of molecular diagnostic tests are based on an understanding of the role genes play in human disease and were developed with a commitment to improving an individual's decision making process for monitoring and treating disease. Myriad is focused on strategic directives to introduce new products, including companion diagnostics, as well as expanding internationally. For more information on how Myriad is making a difference, please visit the Company's website: www.myriad.com.
Myriad, the Myriad logo, BART, BRACAnalysis, Colaris, Colaris AP, Melaris, TheraGuide, Prezeon, OnDose, Panexia and Prolaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. in the United States and foreign countries. MYGN-G
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the effectiveness of the Prolaris test to stratify men by risk of biochemical recurrence; the ability of the Prolaris test to more accurately predict the risk of prostate cancer recurrence than current clinical parameters used in risk assessment and to help healthcare providers make better informed decisions regarding treatment of patients following radical prostatectomy; the Company's belief that the Prolaris test is the only test on the market that has consistently demonstrated prognostic value in both pre and post prostatectomy settings; the Company's belief that the Prolaris test provides physicians and patients with a better risk assessment tool to predict which men are more likely to have recurrence of their disease even after undergoing aggressive treatment such as a radical prostatectomy; and the Company's strategic directives under the captions "About Prolaris" and "About Myriad Genetics." These "forward-looking statements" are management's present expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: the risk that sales and profit margins of our existing molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services may decline or will not continue to increase at historical rates; risks related to changes in the governmental or private insurers reimbursement levels for our tests; the risk that we may be unable to develop or achieve commercial success for additional molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services in a timely manner, or at all; the risk that we may not successfully develop new markets for our molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services, including our ability to successfully generate revenue outside the United States; the risk that licenses to the technology underlying our molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services tests and any future tests are terminated or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to delays or other problems with operating our laboratory testing facilities; risks related to public concern over our genetic testing in general or our tests in particular; risks related to regulatory requirements or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries and changes in the structure of the healthcare system or healthcare payment systems; risks related to our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations or licenses and acquire new technologies or businesses on satisfactory terms, if at all; risks related to our ability to successfully integrate and derive benefits from any technologies or businesses that we license or acquire; the development of competing tests and services; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to protect the proprietary technologies underlying our tests; the risk of patent-infringement claims or challenges to the validity of our patents; risks of new, changing and competitive technologies and regulations in the United States and internationally; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Item 1A in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Myriad undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.