On March 18, 2016 Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), a leader in molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine, reported it will present two important new studies at the 2016 Society for Gynecologic Oncology annual meeting in San Diego, Calif (Press release, Myriad Genetics, MAR 18, 2016, View Source [SID:1234509630]).

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The data demonstrate the ability of the myRisk Hereditary Cancer test to identify deleterious mutations in patients with endometrial cancer. Additionally, a different study showed the superior ability of the combined three biomarker myChoice HRD test to predict survival in patients with platinum treated ovarian cancer.

"Endometrial cancer is the most frequent gynecologic cancer and a significant number of these cases are due to mutations in hereditary cancer genes," said Johnathan Lancaster, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer, Myriad Genetic Laboratories. "Our new data show that gene panel testing can identify many more patients with harmful mutations than testing Lynch Syndrome genes alone. The additional information provided by the myRisk Hereditary Cancer test will help physicians optimize care for their patients."

Details about the featured Myriad presentations at SGO are below. Follow Myriad on Twitter via @MyriadGenetics and stay up-to-date with the meeting by using the hashtag #SGOMtg.

myRisk Hereditary Cancer Presentation — Endometrial Cancer

Title: Hereditary cancer panel testing in an unselected endometrial carcinoma cohort.
Date: Saturday, March 19, 2016: 7:50 to 9:55 a.m. PT.
Location: Podium — Abstract 6261.
Presenter: Kari Ring, MD Anderson Cancer Center.

This study evaluated the prevalence of cancer predisposition gene mutations in 381 endometrial cancer patients who had previously undergone tumor testing to screen for Lynch Syndrome. Patients were tested for mutations in 25 cancer genes using the myRisk Hereditary Cancer test. The results showed that 9.2 percent of endometrial cancer patients had a deleterious mutation, including 5.8 percent with a mutation in a Lynch Syndrome gene and 3.4 percent in 10 non-Lynch genes. Multi-gene panel testing with myRisk demonstrated the ability to identify 60 percent more mutations, several of which are associated with ovarian and uterine cancers. These findings support gene panel testing to identify patients who may be missed by current Lynch Syndrome testing alone.

myChoice HRD Presentation

Title: Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) score shows superior association with outcome compared to its individual score components (LOH, TAI and LST) in platinum treated serous ovarian cancer.
Date: Saturday, March 19, 2016: 7:50 to 9:55 a.m. PT.
Location: Podium — Abstract 6286.
Presenter: Gordon B. Mills, M.D., Ph.D., MD Anderson Cancer Center.

This study compared the predictive ability of the combined three biomarker myChoice HRD score to the three independent measures of homologous recombination deficiency that comprise the assay including: loss of heterozygosity (LOH) score, telomeric-allelic imbalance (TAI) score, and large-scale state transitions (LST) score. The results showed that the combined myChoice HRD score predicted progression-free survival (p=2.2×10-6) and overall survival (p=1.0×10-8) in patients with platinum-treated ovarian cancer. In a bivariate analysis none of the individual biomarkers (LOH, TAI and LST) reached statistical significance for either progression free survival or overall survival. In this study, myChoice HRD was shown to be a superior predictor of clinical outcomes to any of the individual score components including LOH, TAI and LST.

About Myriad myRisk Hereditary Cancer Testing
The Myriad myRisk Hereditary Cancer test uses next-generation sequencing technology to evaluate 25 clinically significant genes associated with eight hereditary cancer sites including: breast, colon, ovarian, endometrial, pancreatic, prostate and gastric cancers and melanoma. For more information visit: myriad.com.

About myChoice HRD
Myriad’s myChoice HRD is the first homologous recombination deficiency test that can detect when a tumor has lost the ability to repair double-stranded DNA breaks, resulting in increased susceptibility to DNA-damaging drugs such as platinum drugs or PARP inhibitors. High myChoice HRD scores reflective of DNA repair deficiencies are prevalent in all breast cancer subtypes, ovarian and most other major cancers. In previously published data, Myriad showed that the myChoice HRD test predicted drug response to platinum therapy in certain patients with triple-negative breast and ovarian cancers. It is estimated that 1.8 million people in the United States and Europe who are diagnosed with cancers annually may be candidates for treatment with DNA-damaging agents. For more information visit: myriad.com.