Study supports Myriad Genetics' PROLARIS molecular diagnostic test for predicting prostate cancer recurrence

Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) today said data that provides further clinical validation supporting its newest molecular diagnostic product, PROLARIS™, was recently presented at the 2010 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco. The abstract of the presentation entitled: "Cell Cycle Genes Predict Recurrence After Radical Prostatectomy" by Gregory P. Swanson, M.D., University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, and colleagues is now available on the American Society of Clinical Oncology's website, www.asco.org.

The study examined a well-described cohort of patients for which 10-year follow-up data were available following prostatectomy surgery. The study was carried out by Dr. Swanson and colleagues at the Scott and White Clinic, Temple, Texas and demonstrated that the PROLARIS molecular diagnostic test is a significant predictor of prostate cancer recurrence in training>

"These exciting scientific findings provide further support of our new PROLARIS molecular diagnostic test and should have significant clinical impact for prostate cancer patients and their physicians," commented Jerry Lanchbury, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer at Myriad Genetics. "We believe that the PROLARIS diagnostic has the potential to transform the care of prostate cancer patients and that future studies that focus on patients who have not yet undergone surgery will further extend the test's potential clinical utility."

In the United States, approximately 80,000 men undergo a radical prostatectomy (removal of the prostate gland and some surrounding tissue) each year. Approximately 35% of those men will eventually have a biochemical recurrence indicating the return of their cancer. PROLARIS is designed to offer urologists an accurate and objective way of determining an individual's recurrence risk, beyond current clinical assessment techniques. Patients at higher risk of recurrence are candidates for more intensive screening and therapeutic strategies given the aggressiveness of their cancers. Patients at lower risk of recurrence are good candidates for "watchful waiting."