Onco Actu du 16 juin 2015

	1. Biologie
What’s in a name? “Death-associated protein” promotes cancer growth in most aggressive breast cancers [MD Anderson Cancer Center] MD Anderson study identifies DAPK1 protein as a novel therapeutic target in tumors with TP53 mutations.
ALK1 Protein May Play a Role in Breast Cancer Metastasis [AACR] "Our work encourages clinical testing of drugs blocking ALK1 in breast cancer with prevention of metastatic dissemination as the primary outcome.”
	3.1 Tabac
Active clinician support and assistance are critical to successfully quitting smoking [Massachusetts General Hospital] Recommending counseling, providing tobacco cessation aids can increase quit rate in high-risk patients undergoing lung cancer screening.
Death toll from smoking goes way beyond lung cancer, study says [LA Times] “Continued progress in reducing cancer mortality, as well as deaths from many other serious diseases, will require more comprehensive tobacco control.”
Cigarettes linked to half of deaths from 12 common cancers [Reuters] Siegel and colleagues estimated that out of 345,962 cancer deaths in 2011 among U.S. adults 35 and older, 167,805 were associated with smoking.
	4. Dépistage, diagnostic et pronostic
Blood Antibodies May Predict HPV-positive Oropharyngeal Cancer Survival [AACR] The presence of certain human papillomavirus (HPV)-16 antibodies in the blood was associated with improved rates of survival among patients with HPV-related oropharyngeal carcinoma, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research.
	5. Traitements
‘Exceptional responders’ to cancer drugs draw scrutiny from scientists [The Washington Post] While ever-improving technologies allow researchers to study cancer tumors in unprecedented depth, some tumors contain many mutations, and it can be hard to determine which ones cause a certain reaction to a drug. But sometimes, answers do emerge.
	5.2 Pharma
Amgen bets on immunotherapy future [Pharmafile] When we speak to Tom Lillie he’s brimming with excitement about the future for Amgen in oncology and the future possibilities of new treatments for people with cancers.
Drug Makers Regularly Hide Reasons Their Drugs are Rejected: Study [Wall Street Journal] “The companies claim, rightly or wrongly, there’s trade secret information and they don’t want it out. And the more severe the problem, the less info you tend to get… And companies lie. It’s just a fact.”
The Incomplete Response Letter [In the Pipeline] The authors say that releasing the full texts "would likely require a change in FDA’s regulations". (Does that make it a matter for Congress to take up?) Someone needs to, because the current system is just not right.
Agios Blood Cancer Drugs Are Fine -- It's the Analysis That's Causing Confusion [TheStreet] The company needs to shoulder some of the blame here for using a more liberal definition of response in the earlier analyses of the clinical trials. By doing so, Agios created confusion and may have set unrealistic expectations for the performance of its cancer drugs.
	5.4 Traitements - Economie
Propaganda or cost of innovation? The high price of new drugs [The Conversation] Until we know more about the actual cost of drug development, we are in no position to meaningfully critique the corporate model promulgated by the pharmaceutical industry, the drug costs put before regulators, or the claims of groups such as Tufts. Ultimately, that leaves health systems at the mercy of industry.
	5.9.3 EHA
The European Union must deliver funding for research of blood disorders [European Hematology Association] “The hematologists in Europe have done a great work. Now it’s the EU’s turn to deliver.”
	6.7 DMP, Big Data & applis
FDA to Work With Online Patient Forum to Mine Safety Data [Bloomberg] The FDA is tapping into a broad flow of data sent to PatientsLikeMe, an online site with 350,000 members that says it’s the largest and most active patient network online. Members often report their drug-use experiences, symptoms and hospitalizations on the site.
	6.7.2 Applis
Wearable Devices to Prevent Sunburn [NY Times] JUNE contains UV sensors that monitor only sun exposure throughout the day. It pairs with a free iOS app to provide a daily sun forecast detailing the expected UV index, a measure of the expected risk of UV radiation from the sun on a scale from 0 to sun-scorched 15, as well as whether to pack sunscreen, sunglasses or a hat.
	6.9 Controverses
“Diagnose, treat, and cure” is largely dead [BMJ Blogs] Again because healthcare is dominated by long term conditions there is little curing any more. Medicine is about ameliorating, palliating, listening, explaining, advising, and consoling. It’s not glamorous.