SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 7, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) announced today that a presentation entitled "Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) score predicts pathologic response following neoadjuvant platinum-based therapy in triple-negative and BRCA1/2 mutation-associated breast cancer (BC)," was presented on Friday, December 7, 2012 at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in San Antonio, Texas. The study demonstrates that Myriad's HRD test strongly predicts which primary tumors will respond to platinum-based combination therapy in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.
Triple-negative breast cancer describes breast tumors that lack estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and HER2. This type of breast cancer tends to be more aggressive than other subtypes of breast cancer and has not been amenable to targeted therapies. The platinum class of drugs kill tumors by causing DNA damage inside the tumor and may be particularly effective against tumors that have lost their ability to repair DNA.
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine and Myriad Genetics studied the pathologic response of tumors in patients with triple-negative breast cancer to a carboplatin-based therapy and showed that the HRD test can significantly predict patient response to such therapy. 70% of patients with an HRD score ≥10 responded to the carboplatin treatment, compared to only 20% of patients with an HRD score < 10 (p=0.0001). Using the HRD test instead of BRCA status identified more than 3 times as many patients as likely responders. The HRD test may prove to be a very important tool in guiding the treatment of patients with triple-negative breast cancer.
"DNA repair deficiency is believed to be a property of a significant number of triple-negative breast tumors," said Dr. James Ford of Stanford University School of Medicine, the senior author of the study. "The HRD score has enabled us to effectively identify the majority of responders with high accuracy."
Many breast tumors are believed to be deficient in DNA repair capacity. Myriad's HRD test is designed to predict patient response to DNA damaging agents such as platinum drugs and PARP inhibitors that may be more effective against these subsets of breast cancer. With further research, the use of the HRD test may become an important tool to guide treatment decisions in all breast cancer patients.
About Myriad Genetics
Myriad Genetics is a leading molecular diagnostic company dedicated to making a difference in patients' lives through the discovery and commercialization of transformative tests to assess a person's genetic risk of developing disease, guide treatment decisions and assess risk of disease progression and recurrence. Myriad's portfolio of molecular diagnostic tests are based on an understanding of the role genes play in human disease and were developed with a commitment to improving an individual's decision making process for monitoring and treating disease. Myriad is focused on strategic directives to introduce new products, including companion diagnostics, as well as expanding internationally. For more information on how Myriad is making a difference, please visit the Company's website: www.myriad.com
Myriad, the Myriad logo, BRACAnalysis, Colaris, Colaris AP, Melaris, TheraGuide, Prezeon, OnDose, Panexia and Prolaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. in the United States and foreign countries. MYGN-G
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,including statements relating to the ability of the HRD test to predict which primary tumors will respond to platinum-based combination therapy in patients with triple-negative breast cancer; whether the HRD test will become a important tool to guide the treatment of patients with triple-negative breast cancer and in all breast cancer patients; and the Company's strategic directives under the caption "About Myriad Genetics". These "forward-looking statements" are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the risk that sales and profit margins of our existing molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services may decline or will not continue to increase at historical rates; the risk that we may be unable to expand into new markets outside of the United States; the risk that we may be unable to develop or achieve commercial success for additional molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services in a timely manner, or at all; the risk that we may not successfully develop new markets for our molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services, including our ability to successfully generate revenue outside the United States; the risk that licenses to the technology underlying our molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services and any future products are terminated or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to delays or other problems with manufacturing our products or operating our laboratory testing facilities; risks related to public concern over genetic testing in general or our tests in particular; risks related to regulatory requirements or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries and changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems; risks related to our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations and acquire new technologies or businesses on satisfactory terms, if at all; risks related to our ability to successfully integrate and derive benefits from any technologies or businesses that we acquire; the development of competing tests and services; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to protect the proprietary technologies underlying our tests; the risk of patent-infringement and invalidity claims or challenges of our patents; risks of new, changing and competitive technologies and regulations in the United States and internationally; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Item 1A in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Myriad undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.