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SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 28, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) announced today that a presentation entitled "CCP Score Significantly Predicts PSA Failure After EBRT," was presented on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Urological Oncology in Bethesda, Maryland. The study demonstrates that the Prolaris® test, which measures cell cycle progression (CCP) genes, significantly predicts PSA biochemical recurrence in patients after treatment with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT).
Researchers at Durham VA Medical Center, Duke University School of Medicine, and Myriad Genetics analyzed biopsy specimens from 152 patients with prostate cancer. In this prospectively collected cohort, the Prolaris test was a significant predictor of biochemical recurrence in patients that had undergone radiation treatment (p=0.0017). After adjustment for Gleason score, PSA percent positive cores, and concurrent anti-hormone therapy, the Prolaris test accurately predicted those patients who would benefit from radiation therapy (p=0.034).
"Current approaches to the management of patients with prostate cancer lead to significant under and overtreatment of patients," said Dr. Stephen Freedland, Durham VA Medical Center and Duke University School of Medicine. "Measurement of the CCP score identifies prostate cancer patients at high risk of progression despite conventional radiation therapy who might be considered for more aggressive treatment regimens."
Approximately 25% of men who undergo primary radiation therapy will suffer potentially life threatening disease recurrence and progression. The Prolaris test could be used to identify these at-risk patients prior to their initial treatment. These patients may be appropriate candidates for more aggressive combination therapies such as radiation with anti-androgen therapy or chemotherapy.
The clinically important information that Prolaris provides cannot be obtained from currently available clinical parameters. In addition, this is the first Prolaris study that contained a significant number of African American men, a population known to be at especially high risk for aggressive 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 replication, Prolaris is able to more accurately predict disease progression and enable physicians to better define a treatment/monitoring strategy for their patients. Prolaris is significantly more prognostic than currently used clinicopathologic variables and 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.
Prolaris has been proven to predict clinical progression in 4 different clinical cohorts, in both pre and post-treatment scenarios.
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 ability of the Company's Prolaris test to predict biochemical recurrence in prostate cancer patients following radiation therapy and to identify at-risk patients prior to initial treatment; the Prolaris test descriptions and enablements under the caption "About Prolaris"; 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; 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.
CONTACT: Investor Relations Jim Evans, Chief Financial Officer (801) 584-1143 investors@myriad.com Media Relations Stephanie Ashe Continuum Health Communications sashe@continuumhealthcom.com
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