Onco Actu du 4 janvier 2016

	1. Biologie
Cancer Cells Can't Proliferate and Invade at the Same Time [Scientific American] “We think of cancer as a disease of uncontrolled cell division, and in fact, many cancer drugs are designed to target these dividing cells. But our study suggests that we need to figure out how to target these nondividing cells, too, as these are the ones that are invasive.”
Discovery could lead to more targeted drugs to stop cancer spread [Cancer Research UK] Researchers focused on a key cluster of proteins – called the Arp2/3 complex – that’s found in all cells and plays an essential role in how they move and work. It helps build a microscopic mesh within cells that allows them to move and gives them their shape.
Immune suppressor cells identified for advanced prostate cancer [MD Anderson Cancer Center] Using a novel prostate cancer mouse model and patient tumor samples, Wang’s and DePinho’s team showed that depletion of MDSCs suppresses tumor progression.
	2. Etiologie
Tasmanian devils can catch second strain of facial cancer, say researchers [The Guardian] New strain of tumour – the fourth transmissible cancer found anywhere – makes devils the only species known to be affected by more than one strain.
Cancer is political – as the argument about its causes shows [The Guardian] New research suggests that environmental factors are responsible for the huge majority of cancers; but opposing studies suggest it’s down to genetics and bad luck. Which you believe may depend on your own philosophy.
Periodontal Disease is Associated With Increased Breast Cancer Risk in Postmenopausal Women [AACR] Freudenheim and colleagues monitored 73,737 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study, none of whom had previous breast cancer. Periodontal disease was reported in 26.1 percent of the women.
	2.4 Etiologie - Portables, ondes e-m
NYT on CDC [Microwave News ] Unfortunately, Hakim does not resolve the difference in outlook between CDC officials in the U.S. and their counterparts in many other countries.
At C.D.C., a Debate Behind Recommendations on Cellphone Risk [NY Times] Today, the agency’s guidelines include a sidebar explanation noting that they were changed, and then changed again. “During this process, revisions were introduced which inadvertently led some visitors to the web page to believe that a change in position had occurred.”
	3. Prévention
An orgasm a day could keep prostate cancer away, scientists claim [The Telegraph] Study finds participants who ejaculated more than 21 times a month were at a 22 percent lower risk of getting the disease
	3.1 Tabac
E-cigarettes are no safer than smoking tobacco, scientists warn [The Telegraph] Cells exposed to the e-cigarette vapour showed several forms of damage, including DNA strand breaks, which can lead to cancer.
Australia tobacco clash reverberates in EU trade talks [POLITICO] The end of a complex court case on the other side of the world could wreak havoc on a campaign in Europe against a proposed trade deal between the EU and the United States.
EU tobacco regulation on track following three challenges [Cancer Research UK] “The Advocate General’s Opinion is very clear: the Directive is lawful and the UK is allowed to go further in standardising the pack. We await the final judgement of the European Court of Justice but it is unlikely to differ from the Opinion.”
E-cigarettes win first approval as a 'medicine' opening way for prescription by the NHS [The Telegraph] A spokeswoman for British American Tobacco said: "Nicovations Limited, part of British American Tobacco's Next Generation Products division, has been granted a licence by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency for its rechargeable electronic cigarette, e-Voke."
	3.5 Prévention - UV
FDA proposes ban on indoor tanning for minors [STAT] The changes would also force manufacturers to install more safety features on tanning beds, and would require all users of any age to sign a waiver showing that they have been informed of the health risks involved.
	4.10 Dép., diag. & prono. - Poumon
Cancer thrives by mutating. But sometimes, a mutation leaves it vulnerable [STAT] The new findings suggest that doctors might do well to take repeated biopsies to check how a patient’s tumor cells are evolving and to consider revisiting the drugs they used at the start of the battle — because those drugs can sometimes have a second life.
	4.11 Dép., diag. & prono. - Ovaire
Ovarian cancer screening: which story framing to believe? [HealthNewsReview] Back to the CBS story. Its first line was: “A simple blood test for ovarian cancer can save women’s lives.” I always say: whenever you hear someone say “simple blood test,” run for the hills because there’s no such thing. That should be clear by now.
	4.12 Biopsies liquides
Pancreas cancer liquid biopsy flows from blood-borne packets of tumor genes [MD Anderson Cancer Center] MD Anderson scientists do next-generation analysis of complete tumor genomes from exosomes.
	4.9 Dép., diag. & prono. - Sein
False positive mammograms and cancer risk: An epidemiological whodunit [HealthNewsReview] Will this study change clinical practice? Will radiologists call fewer false positives for fear of their association with cancer, or more false positives for fear of missing a risk marker for cancer? It’s hard to say but it is unlikely that this study will reduce anxiety in this anxiety-rich corner of medicine.
Hologic Applauds Passage of Federal Measures that Preserve Access to Mammography for Breast Cancer Screening and Increase Incentives for Biomedical Research and Development [Hologic] Essential components of the Protect Access to Lifesaving Screenings (PALS) Act (H.R. 3339 and S. 1926) were included in an appropriations measure that places a two-year moratorium on implementation of any new breast cancer screening recommendations by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).
Ultrasound may be useful supplemental test for breast cancer [Reuters "It’s likely the cancers we find on ultrasound will make a bigger difference than those we find in mammography," Berg said. However, ultrasound also produced more false alarms - or false positives.
	5. Traitements
Biggest database for cancer drug discovery goes 3D [Cancer Research UK] The growing database now holds the 3D structures of almost three million cavities on the surface of nearly 110,000 molecules.
Personalizing cancer therapies may combat resistance to targeted therapy drugs [Massachusetts General Hospital] Mass. General team reports case in which mutation conferring resistance to next-generation ALK inhibitor restored sensitivity to crizotinib.
Mapping cancer’s ‘social networks’ opens new approaches to treatment [Cancer Research UK] “Our study is the first to identify the rules of social behaviour of cancer proteins and use it to predict new targets for potential cancer drugs.”
Appropriate Use of Advanced Technologies for Radiation Therapy and Surgery in Oncology: Workshop Summary [The National Academies Press] Such demand is often propelled by marketing that portrays the new technologies as the “latest and greatest” treatments available. However, evidence is often lacking to support these claims, and these novel technologies usually come with higher price tags and are often used to treat patients who might have achieved similar benefits from less expensive, conventional treatment.
	5.10 Traitements - Essais
How researchers dupe the public with a sneaky practice called "outcome switching" [Vox] With his new endeavor the Compare Project, Goldacre and a team of medical students are trying to address the problem. They compare each new published clinical trial in the top medical journals with the trial's registry entry. When they detect outcome switching, they write a letter to the academic journal pointing out the discrepancy, and then they track how journals respond. I spoke to Goldacre to learn more.
	5.12 Immunothérapies
Top Trend in Health Care in 2015: Cancer Immunotherapy [CANCER RESEARCH Catalyst] As we move into 2016, immunotherapies are likely to become more sophisticated.
	5.2 Pharma
Celgene Settles REVLIMID® Patent Litigation [Celgene] In settlement of all outstanding claims in the litigation, Celgene will permit entry of generic lenalidomide before the April 2027 expiration of Celgene's last-to-expire patent listed in the Orange Book for REVLIMID.
Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Significantly Improves Survival Compared to Chemotherapy in Previously-Treated Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Whose Tumors Express Any Level of PD-L1 [Merck] KEYNOTE-010 Published in The Lancet and to be Presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia 2015 Congress.
Boehringer grabs 'breakthrough,' plots pivotal trials for rival to AstraZeneca, Clovis [FierceBiotech] Boehringer won the agency's breakthrough therapy designation for BI 1482694, which demonstrated early-stage promise for T790M-positive cases of non-small cell lung cancer. That's the same target that AstraZeneca hit for the recent approval of the pioneering TKI Tagrisso (AZD9291). And Clovis has been in hot pursuit with rociletinib (CO-1686), which has now been dragged back by deteriorating patient responses and a delay at the FDA.
	5.2.1 Pharma - Partenariats
Martin Shkreli is ousted as CEO from another drug maker [STAT] The University of California, Davis, and Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida suspended their participation in a clinical trial that was to have been sponsored by KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, which is hoping to develop a treatment for a form of leukemia, according to ClinicalTrials.gov, a federal database.
American Association for Cancer Research and Bayer Form Partnership on Grant Opportunities in Cancer Research [AACR] The AACR-Bayer Innovation and Discovery Grants will promote the key tenets of the Bayer Grants4Targets initiative: to provide new treatment options for cancers with high unmet medical need, to encourage innovation and translation of ideas from basic research into novel drugs, and to foster collaborations between academic groups and the pharmaceutical industry.
	5.3 Traitements - FDA, EMA,...
FDA 2015: A Look Back (and Ahead) – Part 1: Medical Product Innovation [FDA Voice] In this and two additional blog posts over the coming days I’ll cover some of our key accomplishments in 2015. Each blog will examine a different area of FDA’s work. This first post will focus on medical product innovation – our role in making safe, effective and innovative products available to patients who need them.
Increasing access to reports on adverse reactions to medicines [EMA] Revised EudraVigilance access policy is adopted by EMA Management Board.
F.D.A. Regulator, Widowed by Cancer, Helps Speed Drug Approval [NY Times] “Rick Pazdur is the most important person in the cancer world,” said Ellen Sigal, the founder and chairwoman of Friends of Cancer Research, an advocacy group. Now that he has watched his wife die of the disease, she said, “you can’t go through something like this and not be changed by it.”
	5.3.4 Traitements - AMM (FDA, EMA)
FDA Approves Alcohol-Free Docetaxel Formulation [OncLive] The FDA has approved a non-alcohol formulation of docetaxel (Docetaxel Injection) as a treatment for patients with breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, prostate cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma, and head and neck cancer, according to a statement from the manufacturer Teikoku Pharma.
Boehringer Ingelheim 3rd-generation EGFR TKI, BI 1482694, receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation in lung cancer [Boehringer Ingelheim] In 62% of patients with T790M-positive NSCLC objective responses were achieved, including 32 patients (46%) with confirmed tumour response.
FDA Approves Expanded Indication for Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) for the Treatment of Patients with Advanced Melanoma [Merck] This approval marks the second FDA-approved indication in advanced melanoma for KEYTRUDA, which is now the first anti-PD-1 therapy approved for previously untreated advanced melanoma patients regardless of BRAF status. The FDA-approved dose of KEYTRUDA is 2 mg/kg every three weeks.
EMA fast-tracks new oral treatment for non-small cell lung cancer [EMA] Tagrisso (osimertinib) recommended for conditional approval.
	5.4 Traitements - Economie
Drug pricing will continue to loom large in 2016 [STAT] Here’s a look at what to expect on pricing — and on other key issues that are likely to engulf drug makers, regulators, and patients in 2016.
India adds more cancer, HIV/AIDS drugs to essential medicines list [Reuters] India's drug pricing regulator has struggled in the past year to implement price caps and expand them to cover more drugs. When it fixed prices of about 100 medicines citing public interest last year, the industry fired back with lawsuits.
	5.5 ASCO
2016 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium Press Program to Feature New Treatment Strategies, Novel Therapies [ASCO] The 2016 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium will take place January 21-23 at the Moscone West Building in San Francisco, California.
	6.1 Observation
Sedation may not hasten death for terminal cancer patients [Reuters] With sedation, patients lived around 22 days, compared to about 26 days without sedation, a difference that was too small after adjusting for individual characteristics to rule out the possibility that it was due to chance.
Invasive Cancer Incidence and Survival — United States, 2012 [MMWR-CDC] This report provides estimates of cancer incidence for 2012 in the United States and shows that Healthy People 2020 targets were achieved in 30 states for reduced colorectal cancer incidence and 27 states for reduced cervical cancer incidence.
Even with advanced cancer, many patients still want to work [Reuters] The study focused on almost 700 adults aged 65 and under with metastatic cancer, meaning tumors had already spread to other parts of the body, and found that more than one-third of them continued to work after their diagnosis.
	6.10 Politiques
The ten defining moments in health and cancer policy from 2015 [Cancer Research UK] Over the past 12 months we’ve kept cancer high on the political agenda at an international, national, devolved and local level. From MPs voting to bring in standardised tobacco packaging, to Government investment in early diagnosis and the publication of a new Cancer Strategy, it’s been an action-packed year.
Biomedicine wins big in US budget deal [Nature News & Comment] Late spending bill gives the NIH and several other research agencies healthy increases.
	6.11 Patients
Most people do not fear death at cancer diagnosis [Cancer Research UK] Of those who had been diagnosed with cancer only a third (30 per cent) said fear of death was one of the emotions they felt when they were given the news.
	6.4 Médico-éco
Better results offset costs of prostate surgery at specialty centers [Reuters] Men who get prostate cancer surgery at hospitals that do a lot of these procedures may have better results, and those better outcomes might help offset the added cost of care at specialized facilities, a U.S. study suggests.
	6.8 Communication
Why I made ‘Right Now’ – Henry Singer [Cancer Research UK] As our new TV advert, Right Now, goes to air, we caught up with its director, documentary filmmaker Henry Singer.
	6.9 Controverses
Daniel: FDA Does Not Have A Reliable Surveillance System For Medical Devices [The Cancer Letter] FDA is working on improving its postmarket surveillance system for devices in collaboration with Brookings—an effort that Daniel said would reduce reliance on spontaneous reporting of adverse outcomes.
How Medical Devices Do Harm [The Cancer Letter] The questions that remain extend beyond power morcellators, encompassing the entire landscape of medical device regulation. Patients can be harmed and never learn that the device is to blame. Doctors, hospitals, and manufacturers can, as a practical matter, conceal the fact that a device has caused harm. No one will catch them, because no one is looking.