Onco Actu du 28 octobre 2016

	1. Biologie
Mutations in bone cells can drive leukemia in neighboring stem cells [Emory] The findings were published Wednesday, October 26 in Nature.
Zebrafish reveal brain tumour’s secret ally [Cancer Research UK] A new study from a team of our scientists in Edinburgh has made it possible to see the unexpected relationship that microglia have with brain tumour cells. And their findings could open up a new way to test drugs for glioblastoma.
	3.1 Tabac
This machine smokes up to 10 cigarettes at a time — in the name of science [STAT] This block, called a lung-airway-on-a-chip, is connected to a respirator that mimics how humans smoke. It’s part of new technology created by Wyss researchers to study the effects of tobacco smoke and electronic cigarettes on lung cells.
	4. Dépistage, diagnostic et pronostic
Searching the Human Immune System for Clues to Cancer [MIT Technology Review] The diagnostic test, called ClonoSEQ, is the first product introduced by Adaptive Biotechnologies, which was founded in 2009 by brothers Chad and Harlan Robins.
Promising Blood Test Fails to Yield Clues About Best Strategies for Bladder Cancer Treatment [Penn Medicine] Penn Medicine research challenges previous findings on utility of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio as a biomarker.
	4.13 Dép., diag. & prono. - Peau
The Myriad myPath® Melanoma Test Effectively Diagnosed Patients in the Largest Outcomes-Based Study for a Melanoma Diagnostic [Myriad] Data Being Presented at ASDP Demonstrate a Diagnostic Accuracy of >95 Percent.
	4.5 Dép., diag. & prono. - Colorectal
Exact Sciences Shares Dip After Company Adjusts Revenue Forecast [Xconomy] Exact, whose flagship product is a stool-based DNA screening test for colorectal cancer known as Cologuard, said it completed about 68,000 of the tests during the third quarter. The company reiterated its projection that it would complete 240,000 tests of Cologuard this year; hitting that target would require a fourth-quarter total of at least 78,000 tests.
	5. Traitements
Drug targeting tumor metabolism discovered by MD Anderson’s Institute for Applied Cancer Science enters clinical trial [MD Anderson] The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS) has initiated the first clinical study of a novel drug designed to starve cancer cells, IACS-10759.
More Than Was Asked For [In the Pipeline] Here’s an interesting report from the New England Journal of Medicine. It describes a patient diagnosed with follicular lymphoma who also was positive for hepatitis C. They went through a course of Gilead’s sofosbuvir with ribavirin, and that (as it usually does) cleared the Hep C infection. What’s interesting is that at the end of the treatment the lymphoma was in complete remission as well.
‘Unexpected’ Vulnerability Creates Treatment Opportunity in Aggressive Type of Lung Cancer [NCI] The research team showed that a drug already being tested against other types of cancer could successfully exploit this vulnerability in KRAS mutant lung cancer cell lines and mouse models of lung cancer.
	5.12 Immunothérapies
Big Improvement for Immunotherapy Could Come from Small Molecule [GEN] "In a sense, this means that rather than creating killer T cells that are active from the start, but burn out very quickly, we are creating an army of 'renewable cells' that can stay quiet for a long time, but will go into action when necessary and fight tumor cells."
Bruised by a punishing Opdivo failure, Bristol-Myers looks to shake up the business, accelerate R&D [EndPoints] The R&D spotlight now shifts to Checkmate-227, testing a combination of Opdivo and Yervoy. Immuno-oncology chief Fouad Namouni says that the company has learned from the Checkmate-026 setback, doubling the number of patients it’s recruiting for ‘227 in order to avoid a repeat of what Bristol views was a poor selection of patients tested in ‘026.
	5.12.2 Immunothérapies - CAR-T
New approach to cancer treatment carries success with caveat [Harvard] In mice with chronic viral infection, exhausted T cells are controlled by a fundamentally different set of molecular circuits than T cells effectively battling infections or cancer. This finding suggests a way to increase the staying power of CAR T cells, a promising form of immunotherapy for cancer.
	5.12.4 Immunothérapies - Essais
FDA slaps a partial hold on one of AstraZeneca’s crucial durvalumab programs [EndPoints] The news about the safety issue has been percolating inside AstraZeneca for more than a month.
AstraZeneca pauses two cancer drug trials' enrolment due to bleeding [Reuters] Trials of durvalumab and tremelimumab in different cancer types are also progressing as planned. Durvalumab is being tested on its own and with tremelimumab in various cancers.
	5.2.2 Pharma - Fusions & Acquisitions
ASCO star, backed by billionaires, goes to Astellas in $1.4 billion buyout [EndPoints] The little-known German biotech grabbed the spotlight at the big conference with IMAB362, which wrapped a mid-stage study showing it “can significantly extend median survival when added to standard chemotherapy—13.2 months vs. 8.4 months—for patients with advanced gastric cancer.”
Astellas to Acquire Ganymed Pharmaceuticals -Acquisition Would Expand Astellas' Oncology Pipeline with Antibody in Late-Stage [Astellas] Ganymed has several oncology pipeline assets in pre-clinical and clinical stages including IMAB362.
	5.4 Traitements - Economie
High stakes in ballot battle over rising prescription drug costs [HealthNewsReview] Drug makers and their trade association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), have so far contributed nearly $109 million to defeat Prop 61 in California. That sum makes it the most expensive campaign for or against a single ballot initiative in the state’s history.
	5.6 ESMO
ESMO Symposium on Immuno-Oncology 2016 [ESMO] At the ESMO Symposium on Immuno-Oncology starting Friday 4 November in Lausanne, Switzerland, around 600 experts and researchers from all over the world will gather to discuss advances in cancer immunotherapy, from cancer vaccines to antibodies and cell therapies.
	6.11 Patients
Patient values may not always align with choices for end of life care [Reuters] “Based on our clinical experience and previous research, we had a sense that patients were not well informed about treatment options at the end of life nor grounded in their own values,” said lead author Dr. Daren K. Heyland at the Department of Critical Care Medicine of Kingston General Hospital.
	6.7 DMP, Big Data & applis
Stopping Breast Cancer with Help from AI [MIT Technology Review] The U.S. government wants to find out if artificial intelligence can help doctors diagnose and treat breast cancer more effectively.
	6.9 Controverses
'Patient choice' is NHS lingo for buck-passing and blame-dodging. Doctors, not us, know best [The Telegraph] Of course patients need to know what is involved with different treatments, including what risks there may be. But “risk” is a difficult thing to assess for patients who do not have the benefit of more than six years in medical school and the experience to weigh it against the advantages.