Myriad Genetics Posts Key myPath Melanoma Data - Analyst Blog

Myriad Genetics, Inc. MYGN reported results from a crucial clinical validation study of its myPath Melanoma test at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago.

The Myriad myPath Melanoma test is a clinically validated gene expression molecular test that has been designed to differentiate malignant melanoma from benign skin lesions, with a high level of accuracy.

With certain melanomas imitating benign skin lesions, it becomes quite difficult for clinicians to diagnose melanoma in patients accurately. In such situations, Myriad myPath Melanoma comes of help as it has the ability to discriminate malignant melanoma from benign skin lesions, as has been observed in the validation study. The test differentiates between the two diseases by using traditional dermatopathology as a gold standard. A quick and accurate diagnosis of potentially fatal melanoma is now possible, thanks to Myriad myPath Melanoma.

The validation study evaluated 437 pigmented lesions representing a wide variety of subtypes submitted from 4 academic medical centers in the U.S. In the study, the Myriad myPath Melanoma test effectively discriminated malignant melanoma from benign skin lesions with 90% sensitivity and 91% specificity.

The current study findings follow Myriad's data from the earlier verification study of 464 lesions. Results back then had revealed that Myriad myPath Melanoma showed diagnostic accuracy of more than 90% in differentiating malignant melanoma from benign skin lesions in a variety of subtypes.

Management at Myriad strongly believes that myPath Melanoma has the potential to significantly improve the standard of patient care for those diagnosed with melanoma. With this test, it will be much easier for physicians to detect whether a patient has malignant melanoma that needs surgical or medical intervention or whether it is just a case of harmless skin lesion. Accordingly, appropriate therapy can be administered to the patient.

Moreover, an analysis of a potential clinical utility study was also featured at ASCO. The initial findings from this study are found to be consistent with earlier data from a retrospective clinical utility study that was presented at the United States & Canadian Academy of Pathology's (USCAP) annual meeting in March this year. The USCAP data validated a 33% change in medical management based upon the Myriad myPath Melanoma test results.

Myriad currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Other well-placed Bio-medical stocks that warrant a look include ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ANIP, Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD and Illumina Inc. ILMN. All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).