Castle Biosciences Announces Clinical Availability of the DecisionDx-Thymoma Test

June 4, 2012 - PRLog -- Castle Biosciences Inc. announces the clinical availability of the DecisionDx-Thymoma gene expression profile test for use in predicting the risk of metastasis of thymoma tumors.

While rare, thymomas are one of the most common types of cancers found in the upper chest.  Treatment consists of surgical removal in combination with radiation or chemotherapy in patients believed to be at high risk for metastasis. A histology based disease classification process known as the Masaoka staging system has traditionally been used to identify the likelihood of metastasis, but a significant number of patients staged as “low risk” experience a metastatic event.

As presented by Dr. Yesim Gokmen-Polar of Indiana University School of Medicine and colleagues at the Amercian Society of Clinical Oncology 2012, the DecisionDx-Thymoma test completed validation in a multi-institutional sample set that found it to be more accurate in predicting the likelihood of metastasis compared to Masaoka staging and other clinical factors.  The more accurate assessment of metastatic risk provided by DecisionDx-Thymoma could reduce or eliminate the need for these invasive additional treatments following surgery in patients who test as a low risk for thymoma recurrence.

“Obtaining objective molecular data to support traditional histological assessment will lead to improved diagnostic accuracy for thymomas and thymic cancers,” said Dr. Sunil Badve, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at IU School of Medicine. “The test, which recently completed validation, is called DecisionDx-Thymoma and provides an objective, accurate assessment of an individual’s risk of metastasis.”

According to Dr. Patrick Loehrer, director of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren  Simon Cancer Center, H.H. Gregg Professor of Oncology at IU School of Medicine and an international expert on thymomas and thymic carcinomas, “the ability to accurately assess metastatic risk based upon the thymoma’s molecular signature will enable personalizing therapeutic options.  This will assist in deciding which patients should receive post-operative therapy.”

All clinical development and validation were completed under CAP-accredited, CLIA certified laboratory protocols.

About Castle Biosciences Inc:

Castle Biosciences is a cancer based molecular diagnostics company whose mission it is to serve individuals afflicted with rare cancers and those who care for them. The company’s high complexity molecular tests can only be ordered by a licensed physician.
“It is well recognized that rare cancers typically do not have accurate staging tools  relative to predicting metastasis,” said Derek Maetzold, CEO of Castle Biosciences. “We created our company with a focus on working with academic centers, such as Indiana University, for the purpose of providing objective laboratory results that can improve staging accuracy.    Improved risk benefit decisions regarding individual treatment plans will result. The DecisionDx-Thymoma test meets this objective.”

The test can only be ordered through Castle Biosciences and is now clinically available.

About Indiana University and the Indiana University Research and Technology Corporation:

IU is uniquely positioned to collect and analyze thymomas and thymic tumors because of researchers such as Dr. Loehrer, who have been sought by patients for expert care over the past 30 years. The partnership between Castle Biosciences and the IU investigators was brokered by the Indiana University Research and Technology Corp. in fall 2011 after the group worked with the IU investigators to file disclosure on the genes used in their research before their poster presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2011.

Support for early research was also provided by the Indiana Clinical and Translational Science Institute and IU Simon Cancer Center.