Myriad Genetics and National Cancer Center Hospital East in Japan Collaborate on Pan-Cancer MRD Monitoring Clinical Trial, SCRUM-MONSTAR-SCREEN-3

Myriad’s Precise MRD test will be used to evaluate the broad applicability of MRD testing across many cancer types

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.”