www.myriad.com
Recommends all Metastatic Prostate Cancer Patients Receive Genetic Testing
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), a leader in molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine, announced today that the company is applauding a new consensus statement from a team of international experts with screening recommendations on hereditary prostate cancer that was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The consensus recommendations point to the need for routine obtainment of family history information and hereditary cancer counselling for men with prostate cancer seen by either a urologist or oncologist.
“Prostate cancer patients have been an underserved community with genetic testing and metastatic patients face one the highest hereditary cancer mutation rates. Despite this fact, we estimate less than 10 percent of men who meet criteria for hereditary prostate cancer in the United States are tested today.” said Nicole Lambert, General Manager, Urology, Myriad Genetics. “As the global leader in hereditary cancer testing we are dedicated to driving education and awareness for patients and physicians around the risks of hereditary prostate cancer. For example, we have recently taken steps to further enhance myRisk Hereditary Cancer, our market leading test for hereditary cancer with the recent addition of the HOXB13 gene which has been linked to hereditary prostate cancer risk. ”
Recently the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) updated their professional guidelines to support hereditary cancer testing for all men with metastatic prostate cancer which built upon previous testing recommendations for men with advanced prostate cancer and a family history of cancer. “It has become increasingly apparent that hereditary cancer mutations play a significant role in assessing individual patient prostate cancer risk as well as having an increasingly impactful effect in patient therapeutic selection ,” said Neal D. Shore, M.D., President of the Large Urology Group Practice Association (LUGPA). “Knowing specific genetic information may not only affect the life of a prostate cancer patient but may also potentially affect the lives of his family members.”
For more information talk with your doctor, visit www.myriad.com or take the www.hereditarycancerquiz.com.