FRIENDSWOOD, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Castle Biosciences, Inc., a skin cancer diagnostics company providing personalized genomic information to improve cancer management decisions, today announced that it has received the 2019 Technology Innovation in Melanoma Award from the American Skin Association (ASA). Castle Biosciences was recognized for advancing innovative technology in the field of dermatology.
“We are honored to receive this award, which reflects our company’s foundational belief that bringing innovative molecular testing technology to underserved cancers can drive improvements in patient management,” said Derek Maetzold, Founder, President and CEO of Castle Biosciences. “Gene expression profile tests such as DecisionDx-Melanoma bring a new understanding of tumor biology that can result in more informed decision-making, optimized health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs compared to use of traditional clinical and pathologic factors alone.”
President of ASA, Dr. David Norris, said, “I am proud of ASA’s ongoing work and congratulate this much-deserving honoree, Castle Biosciences, on their award.”
ASA is a unique collaboration of patients, families, advocates, physicians and scientists with a mission to advance research, champion skin health, particularly among children, and drive public awareness about skin disease. ASA and its affiliates have funded over $50 million in grants to support the work of more than 300 promising young scientists, and the organization’s contributions in the area of public education are part of a growing worldwide understanding of the importance of skin health and education. For more information, visit americanskin.org.
About DecisionDx-Melanoma
DecisionDx-Melanoma is a gene expression profile test that uses an individual patient’s tumor biology to predict individual risk of cutaneous melanoma metastasis or recurrence, as well as sentinel lymph node positivity, independent of traditional staging factors, and has been studied in more than 2,900 patients. Using tissue from the primary melanoma, the test measures the expression of 31 genes. The test has been validated in three multicenter studies that have included 690 patients and have demonstrated consistent results. Performance has also been confirmed in five prospective studies including more than 780 patients. The consistent high performance and accuracy demonstrated in these studies provides confidence in disease management plans that incorporate DecisionDx-Melanoma test results.
Prediction of the likelihood of sentinel lymph node positivity has also been validated in two prospective multicenter study cohorts that included more than 1,400 patients. Impact on patient management plans for one of every two patients tested has been demonstrated in multicenter and single-center studies. More information about the test and disease can be found at www.SkinMelanoma.com.
About Castle Biosciences
Castle Biosciences is a skin cancer diagnostics company dedicated to helping patients and their physicians make more informed decisions about treatment and follow-up care based on the individual molecular signature of the patient’s tumor. The Company currently offers tests for patients with cutaneous melanoma (DecisionDx®-Melanoma, DecisionDx®-CMSeq; www.SkinMelanoma.com) and uveal melanoma (DecisionDx®-UM, DecisionDx®-PRAME and DecisionDx®-UMSeq; www.MyUvealMelanoma.com), with programs in development for other underserved cancers, the most advanced of which is focused on patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Castle Biosciences is based in Friendswood, Texas (Houston), and has laboratory operations in Phoenix, Arizona. More information can be found at www.CastleBiosciences.com.
DecisionDx-Melanoma, DecisionDx-CMSeq, DecisionDx-UM, DecisionDx-PRAME and DecisionDx-UMSeq are the trademarks of Castle Biosciences, Inc. Any other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
