DecisionDx-Melanoma Survey Reveals Patient Care Insights Among NPs and PAs

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Castle Biosciences, Inc. recently shared data demonstrating the influence of DecisionDx-Melanoma, gene expression profile risk stratification test, on treatment plans for patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma.

The study, recently published in the Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology, features insights from nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) on the clinical use of DecisionDx-Melanoma.

In a survey conducted among 369 NPs and PAs who attended selected conferences in 2020 and 2021, 82.4% of respondents using DecisionDx-Melanoma stated that a high-risk test result in a thin melanoma tumor (≤1mm) would impact their patient treatment plan. Similarly, 81.3% would alter treatment plans based on a high-risk result in Stage 1 tumors.

90.5% of respondents believed that comprehensive prognostic testing, such as DecisionDx-Melanoma, significantly improves patient care.

Furthermore, DecisionDx-Melanoma users reported utilizing test results to determine follow-up schedules and referrals (78.4%), inform treatment decisions (65.9%), and guide decisions on sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) (61.9%).

Almost all test users said they would recommend the test to colleagues (99.4%) or friends and relatives diagnosed with melanoma (97.7%). Even among non-users, 81.9% would recommend the test to colleagues.

The survey's value assessment of both high-risk (Class 2B) and low-risk (Class 1A) DecisionDx-Melanoma test results revealed that 62.1% of respondents would alter their treatment plans for patients with thin tumors based on high-risk results. Additionally, 58.8% would modify treatment plans for Stage 1 tumors with a high-risk result.

Renata Block, MMS, PA-C, the first study author and board-certified physician assistant at Advanced Dermatology & Aesthetic Medicine, LLC in Chicago, emphasized the importance of this shift in perception.

“Historically, patients with thin or Stage 1 tumors would be considered to be at the lowest risk of metastasis or recurrence, based on traditional staging factors alone,” Block, also a Dermatology Times Editorial Advisory Board member, said of the study results. “As the study data affirmed, the personalized, clinically actionable results provided by DecisionDx-Melanoma can significantly impact the treatment plans of patients with melanoma, particularly in the 'low-risk' patient population when their test results indicate aggressive tumor biology that would place them at a higher risk of a poor outcome.”

Reference

Study Finds Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Would Alter Patient Care Decisions Based on DecisionDx-Melanoma Test Results. Castle Biosciences. December 1, 2023. Accessed December 1, 2023. https://ir.castlebiosciences.com/news/news-details/2023/Study-Finds-Nurse-Practitioners-and-Physician-Assistants-Would-Alter-Patient-Care-Decisions-Based-on-DecisionDx-Melanoma-Test-Results/default.aspx