On February 7, 2018 Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), a leader in molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine, reported that results from a large 1,162 patient study of the Myriad myRisk Hereditary Cancer test will be featured during the poster presentation at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancer Symposium in San Francisco, Calif (Press release, Myriad Genetics, FEB 7, 2018, View Source [SID1234523799]). The key finding is that more than 12 percent of men with prostate cancer had an inherited (i.e. hereditary) mutation in a cancer-causing gene.

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"As one of the largest studies of hereditary cancer risk assessment ever conducted in prostate cancer, our myRisk Hereditary Cancer test demonstrated that roughly the same percentage of men with prostate cancer carry hereditary cancer-causing mutations as do women with breast cancer," said Johnathan Lancaster, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer, Myriad Genetics. "These compelling findings provide a strong reason for expanding the use of genetic testing in men diagnosed with prostate cancer consistent with existing professional medical guidelines."

The key data are summarized below and the abstract is available at: abstracts.asco.org. Follow Myriad on Twitter via @MyriadGenetics and stay informed about symposium news and updates by using the hashtag #GU18.

Title: Inherited Germline Mutations in Men with Prostate Cancer.
Presenter: Robert Reid, M.D., Virginia Cancer Specialists.
Date: Sunday, February 9, 2018, 12:15 — 1:45 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. — 7:00 p.m.
Location: Poster Board E4; Poster Abstract 357.

The study will be presented by Robert Reid, M.D. from the Virginia Cancer Specialists who served as the lead investigator of this study. The study objective was to evaluate genetic testing using the 28-gene myRisk Hereditary Cancer test in 1,162 men with a personal history of prostate cancer. Of these, 64 percent had a history of prostate cancer, while 36 percent had a history of prostate cancer and at least one additional cancer. The results showed that 12.1 percent of men with prostate cancer were positive for one or more hereditary cancer mutations in the genes tested. Additionally, the positive rate was significantly higher among men with prostate cancer plus one other cancer (14.7 percent). The inherited mutations were found in genes with a well-known prostate cancer risk (i.e., BRCA2) as well as genes historically associated with other cancer types including breast and colon. These findings suggest that hereditary cancer testing in men with prostate cancer may aid in medical management decision making to reduce overall cancer risk.

"We believe hereditary cancer testing can help inform treatment decisions for these men, including whether to pursue active surveillance, increased screening for secondary cancers and potentially for treatment selection with PARP inhibitors or other medicines in the future," said Dr. Lancaster. "Additionally, once men know they carry an inherited mutation, they can encourage their family members to get tested to learn if they’re at increased risk for cancer and potentially help them prevent future cancers."

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network, American Urological Association (AUA) and an academic consensus panel all support hereditary cancer risk assessment for patients with prostate cancer deemed to be high risk due to metastatic disease or high grade cancer with a family history of BRCA associated cancers including breast, ovarian, pancreatic or prostate cancer.

Importantly, the AUA position states that: "Patients with localized prostate cancer who are at highest risk for developing metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, may have a higher incidence of germline DNA repair mutations than expected from published reports. The presence of germline DNA repair gene mutations has important implications for the prostate cancer patient in terms of general cancer screening and possible future prostate cancer treatment decisions. Additionally the presence of germline DNA repair mutations is of utmost relevance to the patient’s first-degree family members due to increased cancer risk and screening implications."

About Prostate Cancer
One in nine American men will have prostate cancer during his lifetime. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among American men and is the most commonly diagnosed. The American Cancer Society estimates in its Cancer Facts & Figures 2018 report that 164,690 men will be told they have prostate cancer in 2018. Currently, there are nearly 2.9 million American men living with the disease and every 18 minutes another American man dies from prostate cancer. That’s a little more than 80 deaths per day and 29,430 this year.

About Myriad myRisk Hereditary Cancer
The Myriad myRisk Hereditary Cancer test uses an extensive number of sophisticated technologies and proprietary algorithms to evaluate 28 clinically significant genes associated with eight hereditary cancer sites including: breast, colon, ovarian, endometrial, pancreatic, prostate and gastric cancers and melanoma. The myRisk Hereditary Cancer test offers physicians several distinct advantages over other commercial tests, including unsurpassed lab accuracy, industry leading variant classification and exceptional customer service.

Men with prostate cancer can take the Hereditary Cancer Quiz to find out if they might be at risk for an inherited mutation and qualify for myRisk Hereditary Cancer test.