Onco Actu du 13 avril 2015

Sommaire 1. Biologie The RAS Problem: Turning Off a Broken Switch [National Cancer Institute] Facilitating Research, Fueling Collaboration: Dr. Frank McCormick on the RAS Initiative [National Cancer Institute] 3.1 Tabac Tobacco packaging: death of a silent salesman [BMA] Milder Warning Opposed for Swedish Tobacco Item [NY Times] FDA panel votes against label change to Swedish Match snus [Reuters] 3.3 Prévention - Vaccins Vaccinating boys against HPV could cut health-care costs, study suggests [The Globe and Mail] 4.1 Dép., diag. & prono. - Prostate Dogs trained to detect prostate cancer with more than 90% accuracy [The Guardian] Dogs can sniff out prostate cancer almost every time [The Telegraph] 4.10 Dép., diag. & prono. - FDA, EMA, NICE,... The Complex Effects Of The FDA’s Proposal To Regulate Laboratory-Developed Tests [Health Affairs Blog] The Complex Effects Of The FDA’s Proposal To Regulate Laboratory-Developed Tests [Health Affairs Blog] 4.10 Dép., diag. & prono. - Poumon Why Some Doctors Are Hesitant To Screen Smokers For Lung Cancer [NPR] 4.2 Dép., diag. & prono. - Génome Aetna, Cigna balk as Angelina effect spurs genetic cancer testing [Reuters] 4.9 Dép., diag. & prono. - Sein The Hidden Cost Of Mammograms: More Testing And Overtreatment [NPR] 5. Traitements What Is a Cancer Vaccine? [Dana-Farber Cancer Institute] 5.2 Pharma Is Pharmaceutical Productivity In Decline? Maybe Not [Forbes] 5.4 Traitements - Economie In treating cancer, hope comes at a high cost to the public purse [The Guardian] 5.9 AACR Drug development showcasing at AACR conference [Pharmafile] 6.1 Observation 17% of women diagnosed with breast cancer 'waited over a month to see GP' [The Guardian] 6.7 DMP, Big Data & applis Report Slams Digital Health Records [Wall Street Journal]

Les étoiles de couleur jaune signalent des articles dont la lecture est en priorité suggérée (1*) ou recommandée (3*). 1. Biologie The RAS Problem: Turning Off a Broken Switch [National Cancer Institute] NCI launched the RAS Initiative in 2013, in large part to overturn the thinking that targeting RAS is futile. Facilitating Research, Fueling Collaboration: Dr. Frank McCormick on the RAS Initiative [National Cancer Institute] Developing a solid foundation of RAS biology to facilitate the development of drugs targeting RAS-driven cancers is a daunting challenge that needs to be addressed with a concerted effort. 3.1 Tabac Tobacco packaging: death of a silent salesman [BMA] Baroness Finlay says: "We know that the tobacco industry is desperate for new recruits among the young and the slick marketing of cigarette packs was their last advertising stand." Milder Warning Opposed for Swedish Tobacco Item [NY Times] The company submitted more than 130,000 pages of documents, hoping to prove the claims, including dozens of studies and 50 years of data from Snus users in Sweden. The panel’s meeting stretched over two days and included 10 voting questions, but the tone tilted decidedly against the company. FDA panel votes against label change to Swedish Match snus [Reuters] It was the first time the committee had been asked by the FDA to consider allowing a tobacco product to carry a reduced harm claim. The FDA is not obliged to follow the recommendations of its advisory panels but typically does so. 3.3 Prévention - Vaccins Vaccinating boys against HPV could cut health-care costs, study suggests [The Globe and Mail] The work suggests if all the 12-year-old boys in Canada had been vaccinated in 2012, between $8-million and $28-million might have been saved because of oropharyngeal cancers averted in that group. 4.1 Dép., diag. & prono. - Prostate Dogs trained to detect prostate cancer with more than 90% accuracy [The Guardian] The paper’s authors admitted further work is needed to determine just how valuable the dogs’ skill might be in identifying, in daily practice, the signs of prostate cancer. Dogs can sniff out prostate cancer almost every time [The Telegraph] The Italian study involved two German shepherds sniffing the urine of 900 men – 360 with prostate cancer and 540 without. 4.10 Dép., diag. & prono. - FDA, EMA, NICE,... The Complex Effects Of The FDA’s Proposal To Regulate Laboratory-Developed Tests [Health Affairs Blog] The existing proposal displays the FDA’s willingness to balance its goals regarding safety and efficacy data with its concerns about innovation and patient access — and all parties should work together to provide the FDA with the most constructive feedback as it moves forward. The Complex Effects Of The FDA’s Proposal To Regulate Laboratory-Developed Tests [Health Affairs Blog] The existing proposal displays the FDA’s willingness to balance its goals regarding safety and efficacy data with its concerns about innovation and patient access — and all parties should work together to provide the FDA with the most constructive feedback as it moves forward. 4.10 Dép., diag. & prono. - Poumon Why Some Doctors Are Hesitant To Screen Smokers For Lung Cancer [NPR] "There are real reasons to be concerned that the harmful effects of the screening might actually be greater in practice," he says. In other words, the net benefit of CT screening might not exist in the real world. 4.2 Dép., diag. & prono. - Génome Aetna, Cigna balk as Angelina effect spurs genetic cancer testing [Reuters] Major insurance companies including Aetna, Anthem and Cigna are declining to pay for the latest generation of tests, known as multi-gene panel tests, Reuters has learned. The insurers say that the tests are unproven and may lead patients to seek out medical care they don't need. 4.9 Dép., diag. & prono. - Sein The Hidden Cost Of Mammograms: More Testing And Overtreatment [NPR] Mandl estimates that the cost of overtreatment adds up to $1.2 billion each year, resulting in a grand total of $4 billion in unnecessary spending annually. And it's not just the financial cost that's a problem. 5. Traitements What Is a Cancer Vaccine? [Dana-Farber Cancer Institute] Cancer vaccines are medicines that spur the immune system’s natural defenses against cancer. They belong to a class of substances known as biological response modifiers, which strengthen or stimulate a basic bodily process – in this case, the immune system’s ability to detect and attack cancer cells. 5.2 Pharma Is Pharmaceutical Productivity In Decline? Maybe Not [Forbes] Hult’s paper (his dissertation to be precise) reframes this conundrum, redefining productivity in terms of (arguably) the outcome that matters for drugs – patient health. 5.4 Traitements - Economie In treating cancer, hope comes at a high cost to the public purse [The Guardian] “As an oncologist I find that many of the newer therapies are an unjustifiable expense on the public purse but when my father lay dying I can tell you that I wanted him to have every single one of them and didn’t rest till he did.” 5.9 AACR Drug development showcasing at AACR conference [Pharmafile] Roche’s biotech subsidiary Genentech, along with Novartis, AstraZeneca and Bayer will all present data on investigational treatments, in special sessions on drug development highlighting new cancer drugs on the horizon. 6.1 Observation 17% of women diagnosed with breast cancer 'waited over a month to see GP' [The Guardian] Breast Cancer Care’s chief executive, Samia al Qadhi, said: “There have been many awareness raising campaigns around breast cancer symptoms, but our survey suggests that the job still isn’t done." 6.7 DMP, Big Data & applis Report Slams Digital Health Records [Wall Street Journal] The report, by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, listed a litany of complaints it has received about vendors allegedly charging hefty fees to set up connections and share patient records; requiring customers to use proprietary platforms; and making it prohibitively expensive to switch systems.