Your melanoma
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DecisionDx-Melanoma - genetic testing for melanoma

  • I know the hardest part for me was the unknown and not being able to control my surroundings, but this is something that gave you that control back.

    Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave
    Television personality, wellness coach, and stage II melanoma survivor speaking about the DecisionDx-Melanoma test.

A collaboration between Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave and Castle Biosciences sheds light on the reality of living with a skin cancer diagnosis, and the benefits of DecisionDx-Melanoma in a patient’s journey.

DecisionDx-Melanoma is a genetic test for melanoma that looks at your tumor biology to predict the risk of melanoma spreading or coming back.

Download The Patient Guide

Meet our Guests

Each individual who joins these conversations brings a unique perspective, story, and expertise. Get to know them better by viewing their bio.

Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave

American television personality,
wellness coach and founder of ALL IN by Teddi, and host of the Two T’s in a Pod podcast.

View more from teddi

Aaron Farberg, MD

Dermatologist/Mohs Surgeon 
Assistant Professor, Section of Dermatology, Baylor University, Dallas TX

View the Bare Derm Site and more

Morgan England

Stage III melanoma survivor

Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave & Dr. Aaron Farberg

Teddi sits down with Dr. Farberg to discuss all things melanoma, the complexities that come along with a skin cancer diagnosis, and how DecisionDx-Melanoma provides personalized insights into each patient’s melanoma journey.

Learn about:

Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave & Morgan England

Teddi sits down with Morgan and they discuss the realities of living with a melanoma diagnosis and the impact the DecisionDx-Melanoma test had for Morgan.

Learn about:

Hear from Teddi and Dr. Farberg as they answer your FAQs

 

Talk to your doctor today

For tools on how to talk to your doctor about DecisionDx-Melanoma, download the GEP starter guide for melanoma.

Download The Guide

While most melanomas are diagnosed at an early stage (stage I or II), traditional staging methods can miss patients with aggressive tumor biology. The DecisionDx-Melanoma test uses a small sample from the biopsy that your provider has already taken, and it measures the activity of 31-genes that are related to melanoma growth. This information can tell us if the tumor is behaving aggressively or not. The DecisionDx-Melanoma test results can provide you with more information about your prognosis and help you and your care team make personalized management decisions.

With more than 150,000 patients tested and an ongoing collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, DecisionDx-Melanoma is the only melanoma prognostic test to be associated with improved patient survival.

DecisionDx-Melanoma featured studies

  • Scientific collaborators sit around a desk discussing real world data
    1
    REAL WORLD DATA FOR DECISIONDX-MELANOMA

    In collaboration with the National Cancer Institute’s SEER Program Registries, a group of tested patients (n=3,258) was matched to a group of patients who did not receive DecisionDx-Melanoma test results as part of their clinical care (n=9,774).

    In the study, DecisionDx-Melanoma:

    • Independently risk-stratified patients according to their risk of dying from melanoma, consistent with previously published retrospective and prospective studies.
    • Was an independent predictor of patient outcomes.
    • Testing was associated with a 29% lower melanoma-specific mortality (HR=0.71, 95% CI 0.53-0.94) and a 17% lower overall mortality (HR=0.83, 95% CI 0.70-0.99) relative to patients who did not receive DecisionDx-Melanoma testing.
    Read More
  • A clinician speaks to a patient
    2
    INDEPENDENT MULTI-CENTER STUDY OF SLN NEGATIVE PATIENTS

    The study explored the utility of routine imaging to detect metastases in patients with a negative sentinel lymph node biopsy, but high-risk DecisionDx-Melanoma results, compared to patients without testing and imaging driven by current guidelines. The study found that routine surveillance imaging in SLN negative, high-risk patients detected melanoma recurrence ~10 months earlier than those without routine imaging and that patients tested had better overall survival than those not tested. 

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  • A clinician uses a medical device to inspect a patient's shoulder
    3
    META-ANALYSIS

    Meta-analysis of 1,479 patients showed the DecisionDx-Melanoma consistently identified melanoma patients that were at an increased risk of metastasis, independent of traditional clinicopathologic factors, and can be used in conjunction with traditional staging to improve patient risk stratification.

    Read More

The DecisionDx-Melanoma test report consists of 3 different results, these include: 

A risk stratification class according to your tumor biology, the results can be:

  • Class 1A – Lowest Risk
  • Class 1B/2A – Increased Risk
  • Class 2B – Highest Risk

Personalized Risk estimates of your cancer coming back or spreading within the next 5-years

Personalized risk estimates for how likely you are to have a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy

Your next steps

With the DecisionDx-Melanoma results, you and your doctor can make informed decisions about:

  • Treatment
  • Follow up appointments with your dermatologist
  • Additional visits with other specialists
  • Surgical procedures such as a sentinel lymph node biopsy

1 in 2 patients experience a change in management based on their test results. Download the GEP starter kit and talk to your doctor about DecisionDx-Melanoma.

Download The Guide

If you have additional questions, please fill out the form below to get in touch with a Castle Representative.

LEGAL DISCLAIMERS:

On April 5, 2024, Castle entered into a paid partnership with Teddi Mellencamp. This partnership is part of our ongoing commitment to raise awareness about melanoma and the potential use of DecisionDx. Compensation has been provided to Teddi Mellencamp by Castle for her participation in this campaign.

The DecisionDx test is a gene expression profile (GEP) test performed exclusively as a laboratory service. This test has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has not received marketing authorization from FDA. DecisionDx molecular test for cutaneous melanoma is a proprietary GEP assay that uses RT-PCR to determine the expression of a panel of 31 genes (28 discriminant and 3 control) in primary tumor tissue. It provides comprehensive, personalized results to guide risk-aligned management decisions for patients with stage I-III cutaneous melanoma. DecisionDx is intended to predict the risk of metastasis or recurrence, as well as the risk of sentinel lymph node positivity, independent of traditional staging factors using validated artificial intelligence algorithms. Inaccurate classifications of GEP as a class score for risk of recurrence and/or metastasis within five years do occur. Results should not be used as a single determining factor in choosing not to perform a sentinel lymph node biopsy. Treatment options and decisions should be discussed with and are the responsibility of the treating physician. 

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