SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN), a leader in genetic testing and precision medicine, today announced a research collaboration with the National Cancer Center Hospital East (NCCHE) in Japan to study the prognostic and predictive value of molecular residual disease (MRD) testing. The SCRUM-MONSTAR-SCREEN-3 study will use Myriad’s ultra-sensitive MRD test, Precise MRD, to monitor circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) over time in patients diagnosed with a wide array of solid tumor and hematological cancers.

The SCRUM-MONSTAR-SCREEN-3 study, led by Dr. Takayuki Yoshino of the NCCHE, will explore how multi-omic profiling can be used to develop more personalized treatment and therapeutic strategies in three study cohorts. Two of the three cohorts, including approximately 1,200 patients across more than 20 cancer types, will undergo MRD monitoring via Precise MRD. The goal of SCRUM-MONSTAR-SCREEN-3 is to generate high-quality, prospective, clinical evidence showing MRD testing can be broadly applied across cancer types and to patients with different disease severity or staging.

“First generation MRD tests have made remarkable progress monitoring disease recurrence and progression in cancer types with high tumor or variant burden. However, the SCRUM-MONSTAR-SCREEN-3 study requires an MRD test that is sensitive enough to use for cancers with low tumor shedding or variant burden,” said Dr. Yoshino, Deputy Director of Hospital East, Head, Division for the Promotion of Drug and Diagnostic Development, Chief, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology at NCCHE. “We are pleased to partner with Myriad, as its MRD assay is uniquely capable of detecting ctDNA at the lowest levels of detection, a necessary attribute for a pan-cancer study. This study has the potential to revolutionize the scope of WGS-based MRD projects and foster the development of MRD-guided therapeutic strategies for a broad spectrum of cancers.”

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with the esteemed NCCHE team on the SCRUM-MONSTAR-SCREEN-3 study. Investigators at NCCHE have been at the forefront of MRD research, leading some of the most groundbreaking and influential trials as part of SCRUM-MONSTAR-SCREEN, including CIRCULATE-Japan, which comprises GALAXY, VEGA, and ALTAIR in colorectal cancer patients,” said Dale Muzzey, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at Myriad Genetics. “We’ve designed Precise MRD to be highly sensitive for application across all cancer types and look forward to this study demonstrating its utility in cancer care.”

About Myriad’s Precise MRD

Myriad’s Precise MRD is a tumor-informed, whole genome sequencing (WGS) based test that monitors hundreds to thousands of tumor-specific variants, which enables exceptional sensitivity and quantification of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the blood of patients with cancer. Precise MRD can be used to monitor ctDNA levels throughout a cancer patient’s clinical care, starting immediately after diagnosis and continuing through treatment and surveillance. The Precise MRD test is available for use in research studies pursued jointly by Myriad and academic or pharmaceutical investigators. 

About Myriad Genetics

Myriad Genetics is a leading genetic testing and precision medicine company dedicated to advancing health and well-being for all. Myriad develops and offers genetic tests that help assess the risk of developing disease or disease progression and guide treatment decisions across medical specialties where genetic insights can significantly improve patient care and lower healthcare costs. For more information, visit www.myriad.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including that Precise MRD is expected to have accurate ctDNA detection across indication and the SCRUM-MONSTAR-SCREEN-3 study will explore how multi-omic profiling can be used to develop more personalized treatment and therapeutic strategies in three cohorts. These “forward-looking statements” are management’s expectations of future events as of the date hereof and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, conditions, and events to differ materially and adversely from those anticipated. Such factors include those risks described in the company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 1, 2023, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in the company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. Myriad is not under any obligation, and it expressly disclaims any obligation, to update or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law.

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