Onco Actu du 22 septembre 2016

	2. Etiologie
Vasectomy Not Tied to Prostate Cancer Risk [NY Times] The largest previous study of the link, which found an association between vasectomy and the most lethal forms of prostate cancer, involved 800 deaths. This new study included more than 7,400.
Vasectomies not linked to increased prostate cancer risk [Reuters] Two things that do make prostate cancer more likely are smoking and obesity, Jacobs said by email. “Men who want to lower their risk of fatal prostate cancer should focus on maintaining a healthy weight and, if they smoke, quitting smoking,” Jacobs said.
	3.1 Tabac
Smoking leaves chemical traces on DNA [Reuters] The researchers combined data from 16 sets of participants in a previous study of aging, totaling more than 15,000 people who had provided blood samples that were analyzed for a type of DNA change known as methylation.
	4.13 Dép., diag. & prono. - Peau
NICE emphasises the importance of urgent referral in suspected melanoma [NICE] GPs should refer people with suspected malignant melanoma for an appointment within 2 weeks, says NICE in a new quality standard.
GPs fail to refer a third of malignant melanoma cases for urgent tests [The Guardian] Health watchdog says services must improve as cases triple in some age groups in 20 years, partly due to cheap holidays.
	5.12 Immunothérapies
New immunotherapy for leukemia shows promise in small clinical trial [WUSTL] A small clinical trial at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis provides evidence that the immune system’s “natural killer” cells can be dialed up in the laboratory, trained to recall that activation and then effectively unleashed to destroy cancer cells in some patients.
	5.12.2 Immunothérapies - CAR-T
Juno Spends Big on R&D, Production in CAR-T Race to Fight Cancer [Bloomberg] Juno has invested more than $200 million a year in research and development and created manufacturing capacity far beyond its immediate needs because it’s focusing on the long-term goal of developing a best-in-class treatment, the company says.
	5.2 Pharma
AstraZeneca provides update on cediranib EU marketing authorisation application [AstraZeneca] The decision to withdraw the MAA was based on outstanding health authority questions that remain at this late stage of the review process.
AstraZeneca pulls cancer drug application in Europe [Reuters] The British company said on Wednesday that cediranib, a so-called VEGFR inhibitor, remained an important pipeline medicine and the decision did not affect its ongoing development in combination tests alongside other drugs.
	5.2.1 Pharma - Partenariats
CRT and SV Life Sciences form Artios Pharma to focus on DNA damage response [Cancer Research UK] The pol-theta molecule is thought to control DNA repair processes in certain tumours. Knocking out the target could remove a vital path relied on by the cancer cell, causing it to die. A second highly promising programme against an undisclosed target has also been licensed to Artios.
	6.1 Observation
Thousands of breast cancer patients missing out on 43p-a-day drug [The Guardian] A poll of cancer specialists for the charity Breast Cancer Now found confusion over who funds bisphosphonates – cheap drugs typically used to treat osteoporosis.
	6.3 Associations/Fondations
Facebook couple commits $3B to cure disease [Nature] Chan Zuckerberg Initiative aims to have major impact by 2100.
Q&A: Stop all disease? Backed by $3 billion, this neuroscientist aims to fulfill goal of Facebook's co-founder and his wife [Science] Bargmann, who starts on 15 October, has spent most of her career unraveling the neural pathways that control smell and behavior in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. But several years ago, she took on a more public role as co-chair of the advisory group to the President Barack Obama–backed Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative.
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan announce $3 billion effort aimed at curing disease [STAT] “It doesn’t mean that no one will get sick,” Zuckerberg said. The goal, he said, would be to ensure that people get sick less often, or be able to better manage their diseases.
Zuckerberg and Chan aim to tackle all disease by 2100 [BBC News] Mr Zuckerberg said that at present 50 times more money was spent on treating people who are sick than on curing the diseases that would stop them getting ill in the first place, and added that this needed to change.
Zuckerberg and Chan Promise $3 Billion to Cure Every Disease [Wired] “We are at the limit of our ability to alleviate suffering,” Chan, a pediatrician, said this morning at an event in San Francisco. “We want to push back at that boundary.”
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative pledges $3 billion to fight disease [Reuters] The plan includes creating a bioscience research center, called the Biohub, developing a chip to diagnose diseases, and ways to monitor the bloodstream continuously and map cell types in the body.
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Pledge $3 Billion to Fighting Disease [NY Times] The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s science work will be led by Cori Bargmann, a neuroscientist at Rockefeller University in New York.
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan aim to 'cure, prevent and manage' all disease [The Guardian] Zuckerberg suggested that artificial intelligence could help with brain imaging to treat neurological diseases, machine learning could be used to analyse cancer genomes, and chips and blood monitors could identify diseases quickly.
	6.6 Publications
Would peer review work better if reviewers talked to each other? [Retraction Watch] This idea — called “cross-referee commenting” — is being implemented by the journal Development, as part of its attempt to improve the peer-review process.
Improving peer review using peer-reviewed studies [BMJ Blogs] Can meta-research help when it comes to the difficult problem of recognition for review? To recognise good peer review we need to judge the quality of peer review, which means reviewing the reviewers.
Mass production of review articles is cause for concern [Nature] A torrent of low-quality meta-analyses and systematic reviews in biomedicine might be hiding valuable research and misleading scientists.
	6.7 DMP, Big Data & applis
More accountability for big-data algorithms [Nature] There is an asymmetry in algorithmic power and accountability that lawmakers should correct.
	6.7.1 Bioinformatique
Better, Faster, More Comprehensive Manure Distribution [In the Pipeline] So if Microsoft wants to apply machine learning to cancer biology, I’m all for it. But they should just go and try it and report back when something interesting comes out of it, rather than beginning by making a big noise in the newspapers.