Hereditary Cancer Risk Assessment Is an Important Option for Prostate Cancer Patients during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), a leader in molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine, is working to educate the public about hereditary cancer risk assessment and testing during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month this September. With 2.9 million men living with prostate cancer, it is now the second leading form of cancer in the United States, killing one man every 19 minutes. Up to 15 percent of prostate cancers are due to an inherited mutation. Myriad's myRisk(®) Hereditary Cancer test is an effective tool to assess genetic mutations in men diagnosed with prostate cancer.
"We are proud to be leaders in the field of prostate cancer and myRisk is an excellent complement to our existing prostate cancer prognostic test, Prolaris, to further enhance physicians' ability to individualize care for patients with prostate cancer," said Johnathan Lancaster, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer, Myriad Genetics. "We are pleased to bring myRisk's quality and accuracy in prostate cancer genetics to physicians who are working tirelessly to help patients and their children protect their health in the future."
Men with prostate cancer who have hereditary gene mutations experience poorer outcomes associated with higher likelihood of metastasis/disease spread. Furthermore, mutations in cancer-causing genes put men at risk for secondary cancers like pancreatic, colon, melanoma, kidney, brain and others. Because of the increased risks, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) instituted guidelines encouraging men with prostate cancer, who have a family history of cancer and a Gleason score of seven or higher, to undergo genetic testing. A Gleason score is a tool that helps physicians classify the staging and grades of prostate cancer.
"I am actively testing my patients because data show that hereditary gene mutations, such as those found in both the BRAC1 and BRAC2 genes, cause higher rates of aggressive prostate cancer," said Neil Mariados, M.D., Syracuse Radiation Oncology. "By using myRisk, I am helping my patients create plans to mitigate their cancer risk and protect their children, who have a 50 percent chance of inheriting these gene mutations if their father is found to be a mutation-carrier."
Backed by more than 25 years of molecular diagnostics experience and more than 2.7 million people tested, the myRisk Hereditary Cancer test is the leading genetic test for hereditary cancer risk assessment. myRisk uses an extensive amount of sophisticated technologies and proprietary algorithms to evaluate 28 clinically-significant genes associated with eight hereditary cancer sites including: breast, colon, ovarian, endometrial, pancreatic, gastric cancers, melanoma, and prostate.
For more information about the myRisk Hereditary Cancer test, visit www.myriad.com.
About Myriad Genetics
Myriad Genetics Inc. is a leading personalized medicine company dedicated to being a trusted advisor, transforming patient lives worldwide with pioneering molecular diagnostics. Myriad discovers and commercializes molecular diagnostic tests that: determine the risk of developing disease, accurately diagnose disease, assess the risk of disease progression, and guide treatment decisions across six major medical specialties where molecular diagnostics can significantly improve patient care and lower healthcare costs. Myriad is focused on three strategic imperatives: transitioning and expanding its hereditary cancer testing markets, diversifying its product portfolio through the introduction of new products and increasing the revenue contribution from international markets. For more information on how Myriad is making a difference, please visit the Company's website: www.myriad.com.
Myriad, the Myriad logo, BART, BRACAnalysis, Colaris, Colaris AP, myPath, myRisk, Myriad myRisk, myRisk Hereditary Cancer, myChoice, myPlan, BRACAnalysis CDx, Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx, myChoice HRD, EndoPredict, Vectra, GeneSight and Prolaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States and foreign countries. MYGN-F, 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 myRisk Hereditary Cancer test to assess genetic mutations in men diagnosed with prostate cancer; the ability of the myRisk test to help physicians create plans to mitigate their patients' cancer risk and protect their children; the myRisk Hereditary Cancer Test being the leading genetic test for hereditary cancer risk assessment; the quality and accuracy of the myRisk test for prostate cancer; 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 described or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: the risk that sales and profit margins of our existing molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services may decline or will not continue to increase at historical rates; risks related to our ability to transition from our existing product portfolio to our new tests; risks related to changes in the governmental or private insurers' reimbursement levels for our tests or our ability to obtain reimbursement for our new tests at comparable levels to our existing tests; risks related to increased competition and the development of new competing tests and services; the risk that we may be unable to develop or achieve commercial success for additional molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services in a timely manner, or at all; the risk that we may not successfully develop new markets for our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical 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 pharmaceutical and clinical services tests and any future tests are terminated or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to delays or other problems with 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 the healthcare system or healthcare payment systems; risks related to our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations or licenses 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 license or acquire, including but not limited to our acquisition of Assurex, Sividon and the Clinic; risks related to our projections about the potential market opportunity for our products; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to protect or that third parties will infringe the proprietary technologies underlying our tests; the risk of patent-infringement claims or challenges to the validity of our patents; risks related to changes in intellectual property laws covering our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services and patents or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries, such as the Supreme Court decision in the lawsuit brought against us by the Association for Molecular Pathology et al; risks of new, changing and competitive technologies and regulations in the United States and internationally; the risk that we may be unable to comply with financial operating covenants under our credit or lending agreements; the risk that we will be unable to pay, when due, amounts due under our credit or lending agreements; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been 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.
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SOURCE Myriad Genetics, Inc.
