Onco Actu du 15 mars 2016

	1. Biologie
Signs of hope for ovarian cancer [The Institute of Cancer Research] A growing understanding of the genetics of ovarian cancer is helping scientists identify weak spots that could be targets for new drugs.
Paving the way for metastasis [MIT News] Studying mice, the researchers found that cancer cells with a particular version of the Mena protein, called MenaINV (invasive), are able to remodel their environment to make it easier for them to migrate into blood vessels and spread through the body. They also showed that high levels of this protein are correlated with metastasis and earlier deaths among breast cancer patients.
	3.1 Tabac
Smoking in cars with children: Police 'cannot' enforce ban [BBC News] Police in England and Wales are "unable" to enforce a new law banning smoking in cars carrying children as there are no tickets which they can issue, the BBC understands.
Quitting smoking abruptly has best long-term results [Reuters] By six months, 15% of gradual quitters and 22% of abrupt quitters were still abstinent, as reported March 14 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
	4. Dépistage, diagnostic et pronostic
Confusing overdiagnosis for an “epidemic” of thyroid cancer in Japan after Fukushima [Science-Based Medicine] None of this is to say that screening programs don’t save lives. Clearly they do. It’s just that it’s rarely as many lives saved as people assume, because the relationship between early detection and saving lives is nowhere near as clear as people view it. The thyroid screening program launched in the wake of the Fukushima disaster illustrates that very starkly.
	4.5 Dép., diag. & prono. - Colorectal
Is colonoscopy the best colorectal cancer screening? [STAT] Colonoscopy is not better than other tests at reducing your chance of dying of colorectal cancer, but the belief that it is superior keeps many people from getting any form of colorectal screening.
	5. Traitements
How Gut Bacteria Are Shaking Up Cancer Research [Bloomberg] Top scientists at Roche Holding AG and AstraZeneca Plc are sizing up potential allies in the fight against cancer: the trillions of bacteria that live in the human body.
Blocking the escape routes: how an HIV drug exposes skin cancer’s weaknesses [Cancer Research UK] “When we treated skin cancer cells growing in the lab with a combination of nelfinavir and a BRAF drug, we saw that the cells became much more sensitive to the treatment.”
HIV drug could stop skin cancer becoming drug-resistant [Cancer Research UK] The HIV drug, called nelfinavir, works by blocking the molecular switch which boosts cells’ ability to survive treatment. The research, carried out in mice, suggests that nelfinavir could be used in combination with standard skin cancer treatments to make them more potent and delay drug resistance, making available treatments effective for a longer period of time.
Nano-balls filled with poison wipe out metastatic cancer in mice [Science] The treatment, he explains, works in three steps to place a conventional chemotherapeutic agent near the nucleus (or nuclei) of a metastatic cancer cell where the drug molecules are most lethal. “It’s almost like a multistage rocket” that lifts astronauts off Earth, sends them to the moon, and returns them safely, he says.
	5.12 Immunothérapies
A lung cancer vaccine from Cuba [ACS] Currently we do not have the information we need to have to know whether or not this vaccine could be useful in treating lung cancer or possibly be used to prevent cancer in patients at high risk of developing lung cancer.
Cancer versus immunological diversity [The Darwin Cancer Blog] Perhaps the best prospects for this new wave of immunotherapy will be to combine it with drugs that operate through entirely separate pathways. In the meantime, we should ignore the hyperbole in the headlines and celebrate some excellent science that brings together genomics, clonal diversity and the versatility of the immune system.
	5.12.2 Immunothérapies - CAR-T
Modified CAR T Cells May Overcome Immune Suppression and be Effective Against Solid Tumors in Preclinical Models [AACR] In this study, using human T cells, Moon and colleagues engineered second-generation CAR T cells that target specific proteins present on cancer cells (CD19, mesothelin, or PSCA), and using special viruses, inserted a genetically engineered switch receptor, PD1CD28, into the CAR T cells.
T-Cell Pioneer Carl June Acknowledges Key Ingredient Wasn’t His [MIT Technology Review] His papers, cited more than 2,300 times, according to Google Scholar, and which drew attention to revolutionary developments in cancer labs, have been amended to say they “omitted” an acknowledgment that the actual DNA was “designed, developed, and provided” by Dario Campana and Chihaya Imai, who worked at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
	5.2 Pharma
Tiny Celator surges on promising cancer data and preps an FDA submission [FierceBiotech] The Ewing, NJ, company's lead drug, CPX-351, is a 5:1 formulation of the standard cancer treatments cytarabine and daunorubicin, packaged in a nano-scale delivery platform that Celator says can boost efficacy while limiting the risks of administering each drug on its own.
FDA grants Roche’s Cancer Immunotherapy Atezolizumab priority review for advanced bladder cancer [Roche] The BLA submission for atezolizumab is based on results of the IMvigor 210 Phase II study, and the FDA will make a decision on approval by Sept. 12, 2016. Atezolizumab is also being studied in a number of other cancers.
Celator stock soars after leukemia treatment shows survival benefit [Reuters] In the Phase III study of 309 patients with secondary, or high risk, acute myeloid leukemia, those who received Vyxeos, also known as CPX-351, on average lived for 9.6 months after the start of the trial. That compared with 6 months for those who got the standard combination treatment of cytarabine and daunorubicin.
	5.3 Traitements - FDA, EMA,...
Study: The FDA's 'breakthrough' program is speeding up cancer approvals [FierceBiotech] The perceived success of the FDA's program has led to similar efforts around the world, including Japan's sakigake effort and the European Medicines Agency's recently launched Priority Medicines initiative.
European regulators issue final guidelines for redacting clinical trial data [STAT] After more than a year of haggling, European regulators have finalized guidelines for drug makers that want to redact trade secrets from published clinical trial data. And the rules are receiving a cautious reaction.
Precision Medicine: Technology, Regulations and Challenges [RAPS] This article discusses fundamentals of precision medicine, providing an update on how recent regulations and technology trends are contributing to the advancement of patient-centered healthcare.
	5.5 ASCO
ASCO Kicks off Ground-Breaking Clinical Trial to Learn from Use of Approved Targeted Cancer Therapies Matched to Tumor Genomics [ASCO] The trial will evaluate molecularly-targeted cancer drugs and collect data on clinical outcomes to help learn additional uses of these drugs outside of indications already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Patients enrolled in the study will have access to these cancer drugs at no cost.
	5.6 ESMO
ESMO Appoints First Chief Medical Officer [ESMO] The appointment of Professor Douillard follows an extensive six-month selection process open to all ESMO members with the necessary high-level qualifications and experience for the role. Candidates were also required to have held senior ESMO leadership positions.
	6. Lutte contre les cancers
Doctors may treat dying patients for too long, finds BMA report [The Guardian] The report, which drew on the views of 237 doctors and 269 members of the public, calls for wide-ranging changes to how the NHS handles end-of-life care to ensure every patient has “a good death”.
John Grisham book turns spotlight on futuristic cancer treatment [Reuters] "The Tumor" is a fictional account of a 35-year-old man with brain cancer who, a decade into the future, is treated with focused ultrasound - a real-life technology that is currently being researched as a potential cure for more than 50 diseases.
	6.1 Observation
Environmental risks killing 12.6 million people, WHO study says [The Guardian] Cancers linked to the environment kill 1.7 million people, respiratory diseases 1.4 million, and diarrhoeal diseases 846,000.
Financial burden of cancer can harm quality of life [Reuters] The new findings are drawn from the 2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, which included 1,380 people who self-reported ever being diagnosed with cancer.
	6.10 Politiques
Georgia state lawmakers OK new insurance rules for cancer drugs [Reuters] "Every Georgian with health insurance that covers cancer should have the same access to cancer drugs as President Carter," the legislation states. The title of the bill is the Jimmy Carter Cancer Treatment Act.