Award Akamai Finalist: Castle’s DecisionDx®-SCC Poster at Maui Derm Hawaii 2025
Castle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), a company committed to improving patient care through innovative diagnostic tests, will present new data from its dermatologic test portfolio at the Maui Derm Hawaii meeting, taking place January 20-24, 2025, in Maui, Hawaii. Among the presentations is Castle’s poster on DecisionDx-SCC, a test for predicting metastatic risk in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). This poster has been selected as a “Late Breakers” top five finalist for the prestigious Akamai Award, which recognizes the best posters presented at the conference.
The study behind the DecisionDx-SCC poster represents Castle’s largest cohort to date of patients with SCC, involving 1,408 individuals. The research highlights how the test can improve risk stratification in patients with SCC tumors located on the head or neck, a subgroup known to be at higher risk for metastasis. By combining DecisionDx-SCC results with Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) staging, the study showed enhanced accuracy in predicting metastatic risk, allowing clinicians to make more informed decisions about treatment options, such as considering adjuvant therapies like radiation to reduce the risk of metastasis.
“Patients with SCC tumors of the head or neck are at increased risk of metastasis and may benefit from additional treatments like radiation,” said Dr. Emily Ruiz, M.D., MPH, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and Associate Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School. “This study demonstrates that using DecisionDx-SCC alongside BWH staging significantly improves the accuracy of predicting metastatic risk, providing valuable information for clinicians in determining the most appropriate treatment for their patients.”
Castle’s posters, including this one on DecisionDx-SCC, will be available electronically on the Maui Derm Hawaii conference app. As a “Late Breaker” finalist, the DecisionDx-SCC poster will be highlighted in a special podium presentation on Tuesday, January 21, from 10:45-11:15 a.m. local time. This recognition further reinforces the significance of the Akamai Award given to the best posters at the conference, spotlighting Castle’s commitment to improving cancer care with innovative testing.
Key Takeaways from the DecisionDx-SCC Study:
The study evaluated the ability of the DecisionDx-SCC test to stratify patients with head and neck cutaneous SCC (HNcSCC) based on their risk of metastasis. The test classifies patients into three risk categories: Class 1 (low risk), Class 2A (higher risk), and Class 2B (highest risk). The study found significant differences in metastasis-free survival rates across these risk categories: Class 1 had a 92.3% survival rate, Class 2A had 81.3%, and Class 2B had 57.8%.
Furthermore, combining DecisionDx-SCC results with BWH staging improved the overall accuracy of metastatic risk predictions (ANOVA p-value <0.001). This integration could aid clinicians in making risk-aligned management decisions for patients with SCC, particularly those with tumors in the head and neck region, and enhance treatment planning—an accomplishment deserving of the Akamai Award recognition.
Other Posters at Maui Derm Hawaii:
DecisionDx-Melanoma: Another key poster presentation will focus on the clinical utility of the DecisionDx-Melanoma test, specifically in guiding decisions about sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for patients with cutaneous melanoma. A study involving 471 patients demonstrated that using DecisionDx-Melanoma to inform SLNB decisions led to a 25% reduction in unnecessary SLNB procedures, with no patients having a positive sentinel lymph node in the low-risk group. These results support the use of DecisionDx-Melanoma to safely reduce unnecessary surgeries while ensuring patients at higher risk receive appropriate interventions, further adding to Castle’s portfolio of award-winning diagnostic tools.
MyPath Melanoma: Castle will also present a study on MyPath Melanoma, a diagnostic test for difficult-to-diagnose melanocytic lesions. The study, which included 3,317 patients, revealed that approximately 24% of suspicious lesions were subject to diagnostic discordance among board-certified dermatopathologists. These lesions had ambiguous features, highlighting the need for an objective diagnostic tool like MyPath Melanoma to support accurate diagnoses in complex cases, a key component of Castle’s effort to provide actionable insights deserving of recognition like the Akamai Award.
About DecisionDx-SCC:
DecisionDx-SCC is a 40-gene expression profile (40-GEP) test that helps stratify metastatic risk in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) who have one or more high-risk factors identified by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). The test classifies patients into three risk categories—Class 1 (low risk), Class 2A (higher risk), and Class 2B (highest risk)—based on their tumor biology.
These classifications predict individual risk for metastasis and guide treatment decisions, including the use of adjuvant therapies like radiation. Published peer-reviewed studies have demonstrated that DecisionDx-SCC is an independent predictor of metastatic risk and that combining the test with traditional staging systems and clinicopathologic factors can significantly improve risk stratification, leading to more tailored and effective management strategies. This innovation in SCC management is a strong contender for future Akamai Award recognition for its potential impact on patient care.
Castle Biosciences’ ongoing research and data presentations at Maui Derm Hawaii 2025 underscore the company’s commitment to providing physicians with innovative tools to improve the accuracy of diagnoses and treatment decisions in dermatologic oncology. The selection of DecisionDx-SCC as an Akamai Award finalist highlights Castle’s leading role in advancing precision medicine in the fight against skin cancers like melanoma and SCC. With the growing recognition of Akamai Award nominees and winners, Castle continues to position itself as a frontrunner in dermatologic cancer diagnostics, offering solutions that could shape the future of patient care. The Akamai Award is a testament to the breakthrough impact of Castle’s work in this field.
