SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 18, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYGN ) today announced it has published data in the Journal of Urology demonstrating that its Prolaris test accurately predicted, based on biopsy specimens, which men would develop biochemical recurrence (BCR) or metastatic disease following radical prostate surgery. Prolaris is a 46-gene molecular diagnostic test that has been evaluated in more than 5,000 patients across 11 clinical studies.
"This study represents a great advance in the treatment of prostate cancer. The results from three different institutions show that Prolaris can better define patient prognosis and improve care," said Jay T. Bishoff, M.D., director of the Intermountain Urological Institute, at Intermountain Health Care and a study investigator. "Having a test that identifies which patients are likely to fail surgery is a big clinical advantage for physicians. Patients with a low score may be candidates for active surveillance, while patients with a high score indicative of aggressive cancer, may benefit from more intensive medical treatments."
The study evaluated biopsy specimens in 582 men who were treated by radical prostatectomy. In the study, biopsy samples were evaluated from three cohorts of contemporary patients in the United States and Germany. The clinical endpoints were metastatic disease and BCR. In all cohorts, the Prolaris test was a statistically significant predictor of BCR and was the single strongest predictor of metastatic disease when compared to Gleason Score or PSA. In the pooled analysis, each one-unit increase in the Prolaris score translated into a fivefold increased risk of metastases and a 1.6-times increased risk of BCR.
"Men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer are often treated by radical prostatectomy, and about 30 percent of these patients will have metastases or progress even after surgery," said Michael Brawer, M.D., vice president of medical affairs at Myriad Genetic Laboratories. "The Prolaris test answers an important clinical question for all urologists concerning their surgical candidates…do my patients have an aggressive prostate cancer or not and therefore need more aggressive treatment?"
About Prolaris ®
Prolaris is a novel 46-gene RNA-expression test that directly measures tumor cell growth characteristics for stratifying the risk of disease progression in prostate cancer patients. Prolaris provides a quantitative measure of the RNA expression levels of genes involved in the progression of tumor growth. Low gene expression is associated with a low risk of disease progression in men who may be candidates for surveillance and high gene expression is associated with a higher risk of disease progression in patients who may benefit from additional therapy. Prolaris has been proven to predict prostate cancer-specific disease progression in 11 clinical trials with more than 5,000 patients. For more information visit: www.prolaris.com and www.myriad.com/understanding-prostate-cancer/ .
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 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, Myriad myPath, Myriad myPlan, Myriad myRisk, TheraGuide, Prezeon, Panexia, and Prolaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. in the United States and foreign countries. MYGN-F, 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 Prolaris clinical study data; the effectiveness of Prolaris testing to accurately predict cancer-specific disease progression including metastases and biochemical recurrence; and the Company's strategic directives under the caption "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; risks related to increased competition and the development of new competing tests and services; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to protect or that third parties will infringe the proprietary technologies underlying our tests; the risk of patent-infringement claims or challenges to the validity of our patents; risks related to changes in intellectual property laws covering our molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services and patents or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries, such as the Supreme Court decision in the lawsuit brought against us by the Association for Molecular Pathology et al; 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 of 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.
Media Contact: Ron Rogers (801) 584-3065 Investor Contact: Scott Gleason (801) 584-1143
