DecisionDx-Melanoma is a gene expression profile risk stratification assay designed to offer a complete and clinically useful result to guide risk-aligned patient management
Castle Biosciences’ melanoma test has influenced patient care decisions as per the results of a study. (Credit: CDC on Unsplash)
Castle Biosciences said that its DecisionDx-Melanoma test has made nurse practitioners and physician assistants (NPs/PAs) alter their patient care decisions as per a study in patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma.
DecisionDx-Melanoma is a gene expression profile risk stratification assay designed to offer a complete and clinically useful result to guide risk-aligned patient management.
The study evaluated the viewpoints of NPs/PAs towards the clinical use of DecisionDx-Melanoma in melanoma patients through an 18-question online survey.
In the study, over 90% of NPs and PAs who responded to a survey regarding the test said that knowing a patient’s prognostic information, also known as risk-stratification, helped improve their care.
Out of 369 NPs/PAs who completed the survey, 90.5% of them believed that comprehensive prognostic testing like that provided by DecisionDx-Melanoma,7 enhances patient care.
The majority of test users, constituting 65.9%, reported utilising the test results to make decisions regarding treatment choices, while 78.4% used the results for determining follow-up schedules and referrals.
Castle Biosciences, which is engaged in developing tests to guide patient care, stated that 61.9% of users would utilise its test to recommend whether a patient should undergo or skip sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), compared to 50% who would use it to inform surveillance imaging decisions.
Additionally, 62.1% of the participants showed that a high-risk DecisionDx-Melanoma test result would change their treatment plan for a patient with a thin melanoma tumour.
In similar results, 58.8% of respondents said that a high-risk test result would modify their treatment plans for patients with a Stage 1 tumour.
The study’s author and Chicago-based Advanced Dermatology & Aesthetic Medicine physician assistant Renata Block said: “Historically, patients with thin or Stage 1 tumours would be considered to be at the lowest risk of metastasis or recurrence, based on traditional staging factors alone.
“As the study data affirmed, the personalised, clinically actionable results provided by DecisionDx-Melanoma can significantly impact the treatment plans of patients with melanoma, particularly in the ‘low-risk’ patient population when their test results indicate aggressive tumour biology that would place them at a higher risk of a poor outcome.”