Onco Actu du 11 juillet 2016

	1. Biologie
Balls of cells with their own ‘passport’ to help speed up cancer drug testing [Cancer Research UK] Working in collaboration with a number of clinical sites across the UK, the team extract cells from patient samples collected either during surgery or from biopsies. “We break the samples apart and put them into specialised conditions,” he says. This includes feeding the cells, and offering a 3D support structure in which they grow.
Major funders launch international repository of cutting-edge cancer models [Science] Each model will come with a complete genetic analysis and clinical information about the cancer patient it came from, such as whether a specific drug helped them. The project will dovetail with an NCI effort to supplement its 60 workhorse human cancer cell lines with cells derived from patient tissue samples implanted in mice.
Telomere length and the cancer – atherosclerosis trade-off [The Evolution and Medicine Review] Specifically, they describe evidence for an evolutionary trade-off whereby shorter telomeres in some human groups protect against cancer but expose individuals to a greater risk of other diseases in later life.
	3.1 Tabac
Phillip Morris loses tough-on-tobacco lawsuit in Uruguay [Reuters] The World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled in favor of Uruguay on Friday in a suit filed by Philip Morris International seeking compensation for economic damages caused by the nation's anti-tobacco measures.
	3.3 Prévention - Vaccins
Give HPV vaccine to boys to protect against cancers, experts say [The Guardian] With rates of human papilloma virus on the rise, it is vital to immunise males as well as females, researchers believe.
	4. Dépistage, diagnostic et pronostic
Good Indicator of Cancer Prognosis Turned on Its Head by New Research [BioScienceTechnology] "Years ago, being exposed to a lot of sunshine was thought to be one of the best ways of being healthy before we realised the harmful effects of too much could have. This protein has a similar effect. When the activity of wild type p53 is lost, excess production of p21 is far from a good thing. This protein which was previously thought benign turns out to have a dark side."
How imaging could help personalise breast cancer treatment [Cancer Research UK] Finding a new way of grouping patients so they get the most accurate and appropriate treatment for them is always exciting and promising. But, equally, it requires a lot of testing to make sure it works.
	4.1 Dép., diag. & prono. - Prostate
1 in 8 advanced prostate cancers may be linked to faulty genes [NHS Choices] The researchers' call for men with prostate cancer to be tested so their relatives can then be counselled about their risk of cancer raises questions. Not all people with DNA repair gene mutations like BRCA1 and BRCA2 go on to get cancer, although the mutations do raise the risk of cancer.
	5.12.2 Immunothérapies - CAR-T
False hope? China's military hospitals offer illegal experimental cures [Reuters] Gong Xiaoming, a senior Beijing-based gynaecologist and former physician at the prestigious Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said the main problem was the small private clinics used by military hospitals. Without tighter regulation the illegal provision of immunotherapy and other banned treatments would likely continue, he said.
In Juno patient deaths, echoes seen of earlier failed company [STAT] Two top executives and dozens of other employees of Juno Therapeutics, the company that on Thursday was forced to halt a clinical trial after three leukemia patients died, are alumni of another biotech company that declared bankruptcy two years ago after disappointing sales of its one product.
Tragedy In A Clinical Trial: A Reminder That Biotech Is Not A Game [Forbes] The deaths are tragic, a reminder that biotech is not a game, or sport, for investors to win or lose, but a serious enterprise to fill a need: helping patients to get well. They’re a reminder also of the need for the FDA, and for careful monitoring of patients getting treatment in all phases of clinical trials, and in general.
Unexpected Deaths Put Promising Immunotherapy on Hold [MIT Technology Review] The same Juno program was put on hold in 2014 after two other patients died from immune reactions caused by the T cells. In fact, by some measures, patient deaths in T-cell trials have been almost routine, including fatalities in studies by the National Cancer Institute and at the University of Pennsylvania.
	5.2 Pharma
After Baxalta-Shire merger, David Meek lands CEO job at leaderless Ipsen [FierceBiotech] The French firm gains Meek as its new CEO as his former company--of which he was EVP and president of oncology--has now merged into the Irish biopharma in a $32 billion deal.
Pfizer Announces Positive Top-Line Results From Phase 3 S-TRAC Trial of SUTENT® (sunitinib) as Adjuvant Therapy in Patients at High Risk of Recurrent Renal Cell Carcinoma [Pfizer] The S-TRAC trial is a randomized double-blind Phase 3 trial of adjuvant SUTENT vs. placebo in more than 670 patients at high risk of recurrent RCC. Patients were on SUTENT or placebo for one year. The trial has two cohorts: Global and China.
	5.2.3 Pharma - économie
Tesaro Stock Sale Hauls in $409M on Heels of Strong Cancer Data [Xconomy] Tesaro was founded in 2010 by a group of pharma industry heavyweights. Rather than spending the time and money to discover drugs, Tesaro acquires compounds from other companies and directs its resources toward the clinical trials needed for FDA approval.
	5.3 Traitements - FDA, EMA,...
PRAC concludes review of Zydelig and issues updated recommendations for use [EMA] The PRAC however confirmed that there is a risk of serious infections with Zydelig (idelalisib), including Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia and has updated recommendations to manage this risk issued at the beginning of the review.
	5.4 Traitements - Economie
NICE kicks off 'new approach' with leukaemia drug approval [Cancer Research UK] It's good news that patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia can now get this drug through routine NHS funding. It's good to see the process of reassessing existing CDF drugs underway, and encouraging to see the company was able to offer a good price to the NHS.
	6. Lutte contre les cancers
Acupressure may ease fatigue after breast cancer [Reuters] For the new study, the researchers randomly assigned 288 breast cancer survivors to one of three groups. One group was told to continue their usual care. A second group received acupressure that targets relaxation points. The final group received stimulating acupressure, intended to increase energy.
	6.6 Publications
Beat it, impact factor! Publishing elite turns against controversial metric [Nature News & Comment] A paper posted to the preprint server bioRxiv, authored by senior employees at several leading science publishers (including Nature’s owner, SpringerNature), calls on journals to downplay the figure in favour of a metric that captures the range of citations that a journal’s articles attract.
	6.7 DMP, Big Data & applis
Web-Based Data Tool Designed to Enhance Drug Safety [Cincinnati CHlidren's] Calling their new database AERSMine, researchers said the tool allows anyone from physicians to the general public to rapidly find, combine and analyze the growing volume of drug information stored in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Reporting System (FAERS).