FRIENDSWOOD, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Castle Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), a skin cancer diagnostics company providing personalized genomic information to improve cancer treatment decisions, today announced its national sponsorship of the American Academy of Dermatology’s (AAD) “Skin Cancer, Take a Hike!^™” steps challenge for Skin Cancer Awareness Month.

“Skin Cancer, Take a Hike!” is a participant-driven fundraising event that has raised $1.5 million since its inaugural 2014 hike. By educating the public about skin cancer prevention and early detection, the AAD and its partners like Castle aim to drive sun-safety behaviors that can reduce skin cancer and ultimately save lives. “Skin Cancer, Take a Hike!” proceeds are dedicated to reducing the incidence of skin cancer through public education and access to life-saving programs and services, including free skin cancer screenings, permanent shade structures where children learn and play, and sunscreen dispensers in public areas, such as parks and pools.

At this year’s virtual event, held throughout May for Skin Cancer Awareness Month, hundreds of participants across the country will complete 9,500 miles in honor of the approximately 9,500 people diagnosed with skin cancer every day.

“We greatly appreciate the support of Castle Biosciences in our efforts to help the public prevent skin cancer and detect it early, when it’s most treatable,” says dermatologist Kenneth J. Tomecki, M.D., FAAD, president of the AAD. “Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., and nearly 20 Americans die from melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, every day. By working together to raise awareness through ‘Skin Cancer, Take a Hike!’, we want to remind the public that they can protect their skin from the sun and reduce their risk of skin cancer by seeking shade, wearing protective clothing — including a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses with UV protection — and applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher to all skin not covered by clothing.”

“Skin Cancer, Take a Hike!^™” is part of the AAD’s SPOT Skin Cancer™ initiative to reduce skin cancer mortality and incidence through public awareness, community outreach programs and services, and advocacy that promotes the prevention, detection and treatment of skin cancer. Thanks to the campaign’s dedicated volunteers and donors, SPOT Skin Cancer^™ has provided more than 2.8 million free skin cancer screenings and awarded 432 shade structure grants, which provide shade for nearly 3.5 million individuals daily.

“Among the viable techniques to mitigate harm caused by skin cancer, the importance of prevention and early detection cannot be overstated,” said Derek Maetzold, president and chief executive officer of Castle Biosciences. “Castle’s primary focus is to improve the lives of patients with skin cancer. In addition to our suite of prognostic and diagnostic tests, we recognize that reducing sun exposure, wearing sunscreen and UV-blocking clothing and getting screened for cancer are critical for improving health outcomes. Often, the largest barriers to wide uptake of those measures include insufficient awareness and insufficient financial allocation to their distribution—two barriers that we are proud to confront alongside the AAD.”

About the AAD

Headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., the American Academy of Dermatology, founded in 1938, is the largest, most influential, and most representative of all dermatologic associations. With a membership of more than 20,000 physicians worldwide, the AAD is committed to: advancing the diagnosis and medical, surgical and cosmetic treatment of the skin, hair and nails; advocating high standards in clinical practice, education, and research in dermatology; and supporting and enhancing patient care for a lifetime of healthier skin, hair and nails. For more information, contact the AAD at (888) 462-DERM (3376) or aad.org. Follow the AAD on Facebook (American Academy of Dermatology), Twitter (@AADskin), Instagram (@AADskin1), or YouTube (AcademyofDermatology).

About Castle Biosciences

Castle Biosciences (Nasdaq: CSTL) is a commercial-stage dermatologic cancer company focused on providing physicians and their patients with personalized, clinically actionable genomic information to make more accurate treatment decisions. The Company currently offers tests for patients with cutaneous melanoma (DecisionDx^®-Melanoma, DecisionDx^®-CMSeq), cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (DecisionDx^®-SCC), suspicious pigmented lesions (DecisionDx^® DiffDx™-Melanoma) and uveal melanoma (DecisionDx^®-UM, DecisionDx^®-PRAME and DecisionDx^®-UMSeq). For more information about Castle’s gene expression profile tests, visit www.CastleTestInfo.com. Castle also has active research and development programs for tests in other dermatologic diseases with high clinical need. Castle Biosciences is based in Friendswood, Texas (Houston), and has laboratory operations in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information, visit www.CastleBiosciences.com.

DecisionDx-Melanoma, DecisionDx-CMSeq, DecisionDx-SCC, DecisionDx DiffDx-Melanoma, DecisionDx-UM, DecisionDx-PRAME and DecisionDx-UMSeq are trademarks of Castle Biosciences, Inc.

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