Myriad Publishes myRisk Hereditary Cancer Study In Cancer

Myriad Genetics, Inc.

, today announced that the Myriad myRisk™ Hereditary Cancer test significantly improved the detection of cancer-causing mutations by 46 percent in patients with breast cancer in a new study published in the journal Cancer (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.29010/abstract). In this study, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center used the myRisk test to determine the frequency of hereditary cancer mutations in 2,158 individuals with a history of breast cancer, including 1,781 referred for commercial BRCA1/2 testing, and 377 patients with a personal and family history who previously tested negative for BRCA mutations. Deleterious mutations were found in a total of 16 genes. Among the 1,781 patients referred for commercial BRCA testing, 9.3 percent carried a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. Importantly, an additional 4 percent of patients carried a mutation in another breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene. Among the 377 patients with personal and family histories who previously tested negative for BRCA mutations, the frequency of mutations in the other breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility genes was nearly 3 percent. Additionally, among the 1,781 patients referred for commercial BRCA testing, 0.4 percent of individuals had mutations in colon cancer (Lynch-syndrome) genes. The myRisk Hereditary Cancer test increased the detection of cancer-causing mutations in genes other than BRCA1 or BRCA2 by 46 percent and found 43 percent more women with a deleterious mutation. Most of these new mutations were in other cancer susceptibility genes associated with breast/ovarian cancer such as CHEK2, PALB2 and ATM. "In this study, the Myriad myRisk Hereditary Cancer test identified significantly more genetic mutations that raise the risk of hereditary breast, ovarian, and other cancers," said Nadine Tung, M.D., director, Cancer Risk and Prevention Program, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "These findings support the use of panel testing for some patients with breast cancer because it is much more efficient than testing one gene at a time, and may identify mutations in patients who are unaware of their family history of cancer. Patients should discuss their test results with a qualified healthcare professional and once they know their risk, they can take appropriate action to better manage their healthcare." The myRisk test uses powerful next-generation sequencing technology to evaluate 25 clinically significant genes associated with eight cancers to provide patients with information about their cancer risks. "The myRisk test is rapidly moving us beyond testing for one gene at a time, making it possible to test multiple cancer-causing genes at once, which we believe will significantly improve patient care in this new era of genomic medicine," said Anne-Renee Hartman, M.D., vice president of Clinical Development at Myriad Genetic Laboratories. "Myriad is committed to advancing the science even further, and we are conducting several additional studies to develop evidence-based approaches to cancer prevention and risk reduction in these patients."