FRIENDSWOOD, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Castle Biosciences, Inc., a provider of molecular diagnostics to improve cancer treatment, today announced the publication of a study analyzing attitudes among thoracic surgeons toward the treatment of esophageal cancer (EC) with locoregional disease, demonstrating that Castle Biosciences’ predictive multi-analyte immunohistochemistry (IHC)–based test has a significant influence on physicians’ treatment decisions for patients living with this devastating form of cancer.
The paper, titled “Intended Use for a Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Response Prediction Test for Locally Advanced Esophageal Adenocarcinoma: A Survey Analysis of Thoracic Surgeons in the U.S.,” and published online by Current Medical Research & Opinion, demonstrated that Castle Biosciences’ test, known as DecisionDx-EC™, would influence physicians to adjust their treatment strategy based on the test’s ability to predict patients’ response or lack of response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (neoCTRT). Nearly twice as many surgeons stated an intention to change their treatment strategy for patients predicted to be resistant to neoCTRT compared to patients predicted to completely respond to neoCTRT, according to the survey.
“The survey shows that most physicians treating esophageal cancer will make adjustments to treatment plans when it appears that current standard therapies will not be effective for an individual patient,” said Derek Maetzold, President and CEO of Castle Biosciences. “The DecisionDx-EC test gives physicians a guide for treating this disease in an evidence-based manner.”
The survey assessed responses from 57 thoracic surgeons who were provided with a questionnaire about the current clinical management of locally advanced EC, and their intention to change their treatment strategy if the test predicts that a patient will experience either pathological complete response (pathCR) or is found to be extremely resistant to neoCTRT.
Nearly all respondents stated that they administer neoCTRT followed by surgery to treat locally-advanced EC. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents said they would be willing to adjust their treatment approach for patients predicted to be resistant to neoCTRT. One out of four respondents who were willing to adjust treatment for a patient who is predicted to be resistant to CTRT chose to avoid CTRT and instead would move those patients directly to surgery. Additionally, approximately one-third of respondents currently prescribing neoCTRT acknowledged that a pathCR prediction provided by Castle’s test would change their treatment strategy.
While the authors acknowledge the limitations of the survey—mainly that it addresses the attitudes of surgical oncologists while the decisions regarding treatment of esophageal cancer are generally made by a multidisciplinary team—the results strongly suggest that use of the IHC-based predictive test is of great interest to the physicians, and would likely contribute to more individualized treatment for patients with distinct sensitivity to neoCTRT.
More information about the study can be found at: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1185/03007995.2015.1025730
About the DecisionDx-EC Test
The test, a three-protein biomarker assay, was discovered by researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and licensed to Castle Biosciences. Pre-treatment tumor biopsies were used to evaluate resistance (exCTRT) or responsiveness to (non-exCTRT) standard pre-surgical CTRT regimens under CAP-accredited, CLIA-certified laboratory protocols. According to validation studies published last month in Gastrointestinal Cancers: Target and Therapies, the test can reliably differentiate patients who are complete or partial responders to chemoradiotherapy from those who are non-responders. An initial, single center clinical validation study of 167 patients achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.96 and an overall accuracy of 90%.
About Esophageal Cancer
The esophagus carries food and liquid from the mouth to the stomach. There are two main types of esophageal cancer: adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The most common form of the disease in the U.S. is adenocarcinoma and is most prevalent in Caucasian men between the ages of 50 and 70. Esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is one of the fastest growing cancers in the country, has also been linked to obesity – perhaps related to chronic exposure to stomach acid. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 18,000 Americans were diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2013.
About Castle Biosciences
Castle Biosciences is a molecular diagnostics company dedicated to helping patients and their physicians make the best possible decisions about their treatment and follow-up care based on the individual molecular signature of their tumor. The Company currently offers tests for patients with uveal melanoma, cutaneous melanoma and esophageal cancer, among others. Castle Biosciences is based in Friendswood, TX (Houston), and has laboratory operations in Phoenix, AZ. More information can be found at www.castlebiosciences.com.
DecisionDx-UM™, DecisionDx-Melanoma™ and DecisionDx-EC™ are the trademarks of Castle Biosciences, Inc. Any other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.