Castle Biosciences launches test to predict metastasis risk in cSCC

Castle Biosciences announced the commercial availability of DecisionDx-SCC, a prognostic gene expression profile test for patients diagnosed with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC).

DecisionDx-SCC is a qRT-PCR assay of 40 genes that utilizes a patient’s tumor biology to predict risk of squamous cell carcinoma metastasis and categorizes patients into one of three risk classes — Class 1, 2A or 2B — which can inform risk-appropriate management, the company says.

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“Using current SCC staging methods, about 200,000 patients annually are classified as high risk based on various clinical and pathological factors. But this relatively broad high-risk category leaves room for over- and undertreatment — a degree of uncertainty that patients and clinicians cannot afford, as death rates from SCC continue to rise,” says Derek Maetzold, president and CEO. “Now with the ability to add DecisionDx-SCC to commonly used clinical and pathological factors, we believe that this important innovation will improve prognostic accuracy and risk-appropriate management planning.”

The test’s legitimacy is supported by an independent, multicenter study that examined archival tissue from 420 patients with known three-year outcomes. Four peer-reviewed publications support the validity of DecisionDx-SCC as a predictor of metastatic risk and, in conjunction with current prognostic methods, the test can supplement clinician decisions about management and staging, according to the press release.

“As SCC cancer treatment plans and their outcomes are guided by risk of metastasis, improved prognostic accuracy has direct implications on patient management,” says Ashley Wysong, M.D., University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Neb. “By classifying SCC patients with existing risk factors into low, moderate and high biological risk categories, we believe DecisionDx-SCC can contribute positive predictive value to follow-up and management recommendations, potentially changing or narrowing recommendations in line with individual risk. I look forward to integrating tumor biology through DecisionDx-SCC into the clinical care of my patients.”

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Currently, Castle Biosciences offers prognostic tests for uveal melanoma (DecisionDx-UM, DecisionDx-PRAME and DecisionDx-UMSeq) and cutaneous melanoma (DecisionDx-Melanoma, DecisionDx-CMSeq).

For more information on DecisionDx-SCC can be found at www.mysccskincancer.com

References:

Castle Biosciences, Communications. (2020, September 2). Castle Biosciences Announces Commercial Launch of DecisionDx-SCC [Press release]. Retrieved September 8, 2020, from https://ir.castlebiosciences.com/node/7851/pdf