Onco Actu du 1er décembre 2016

	3.1 Tabac
UK court rejects tobacco companies' appeal on plain packaging [Reuters] The companies argued that the law, which went into effect in May, unlawfully deprives them of their intellectual property by banning the use of all marketing on packages, including logos, colors and special fonts.
U.S. Will Ban Smoking in Public Housing Nationwide [NY Times] The nationwide ban will have its greatest impact in New York, where the New York City Housing Authority — whose 178,000 apartments and more than 400,000 residents make it the largest public housing agency in the United States, has lagged behind many of its counterparts in adopting smoke-free policies.
	3.1.1 Tabac - e-cigs
How e-cigarettes could ‘health wash’ the tobacco industry [The Conversation] By positioning themselves as “part of the solution”, rather than the essence of the problem, the tobacco industry is seeking to claw back from its pariah status and to re-engage in the policy process.
	5. Traitements
New device could help make cancer surgery more accurate [Cancer Research UK] Working with a small number of breast cancer and melanoma samples, the team made multiple measurements at the borders of the samples. They found the probe was able to tell apart tumour and normal areas with around 90% accuracy.
A New Probe May Aid in Complete Removal of Cancer Tissue During Surgery [AACR] An optical fiber probe can distinguish cancer tissue and normal tissue at the margins of a tumor being excised, in real time, by detecting the difference in pH between the two types of tissue.
	5.12 Immunothérapies
The Next Revolution in Cancer Medicine [Scientific American] The dream of personalized cancer vaccines is not just feasible, but achievable.
	5.12.2 Immunothérapies - CAR-T
In Year of CAR-T Trouble, Can Bluebird, Penn Make Headway in Myeloma? [Xconomy] It took two and four months post-treatment, respectively, to get the two best responses, Davidson says. Will Bluebird see better, longer-lasting results as its doses climb? Or will higher doses over longer periods of time prove too dangerous?
After Juno deaths, bluebird posts positive CAR-T safety, efficacy signals [FierceBiotech] The biotech told me that whilst it is difficult to compare across trials, especially with small numbers, “we are certainly excited by the responses we’ve seen to date – particularly the sCRs and the two MRD-negative patients, the latter of which is particularly unusual in this patient population.”
bluebird bio Announces Interim Phase 1 Dose Escalation Data for its Anti-BCMA CAR T Product Candidate in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma [Bluebird Bio] 100% of patients (n=6) in second and third dose cohorts achieved an objective response; two patients MRD-negative; overall response rate (ORR) is 78%.
Bluebird, Celgene T-Cell Therapy Eliminates Multiple Myeloma With Minimal Side Effects [The Street] The relative safety of Bluebird's CAR-T, so far, is a key distinguishing feature, particularly given the recent toxicity issues seen with an experimental CAR-T from Juno Therapeutics.
Deaths in Immune-Therapy Trials Haunt the Experimental Cancer Treatment [MIT Technology Review] The problem is these engineered T cells have the potential to stimulate the immune system too much. This can lead to cytokine release syndrome, one of the well-known side effects of immune therapies like CAR-T. But the five patients in the Juno trial died from a different condition, cerebral edema, or swelling of the brain. In other trials of CAR-T therapies, neurological side effects have occurred but were mostly short-lived.
Triple meeting – Bluebird upstages its Ash rivals [EP Vantage] The data are early but striking: seven of nine late-line, post-transplant, multiple myeloma patients have gone into remission, with no serious toxicities. The result upstages other anti-BCMA CARs in the clinic, including one linked to Novartis, and sets a new benchmark for Kite, Juno and Cellectis’s preclinical projects.
Bluebird, Celgene myeloma treatment impresses in tiny study [Reuters] The data sent Bluebird shares up 22.6 percent to $74 in after-hours trading.
	5.2 Pharma
Early data on OncoMed's cancer antibodies 'intriguing, but preliminary' [FierceBiotech] The first-in-human data on OMP-305B83 (anti-DLL4/VEGF bispecific) and OMP-131R10 (anti-RSPO3) antibodies checked the right boxes—safety profile OK, dose selected for Phase 2 studies—but shares in the company remain weak and were down in after-hours trading yesterday.
New KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Data to be Presented at 17th World Conference on Lung Cancer Highlight Research Across the Spectrum of Thoracic Malignancies [Merck] Findings to be Presented in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Small Cell Lung Cancer and Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma with KEYTRUDA as Monotherapy and in Combination with Other Treatments.
Pfizer's Herceptin biosimilar succeeds in key breast cancer study [Reuters] Unlike generic drugs, which are interchangeable with their branded counterparts, biosimilars approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to date are not considered interchangeable.
	5.3 Traitements - FDA, EMA, NICE...
Top U.S. heart doctors want Califf to remain FDA Commissioner [Reuters] In conversations about the future of U.S. healthcare with heart doctors and researchers at the recent American Heart Association scientific sessions in New Orleans, Califf remaining at his post was high on many wish lists.
	5.8 ASH
58th ASH Annual Meeting to Celebrate Major Advances in Hematology Research [ASH] The 2016 ASH Annual Meeting will feature nearly 5,000 scientific abstract presentations in malignant and non-malignant blood diseases – from cutting-edge advances in genome editing and discoveries about biological processes of the blood to practice-changing breakthroughs in immunotherapies and innovative treatment combinations.
	5.9.4 ENA
Man 'cured' of prostate cancer after doctors shock tumour to death with testosterone [The Telegraph] "Our goal is to shock the cancer cells by exposing them rapidly to very high followed by very low levels of testosterone in the blood. The results are unexpected and exciting."
Anti-cancer drug, CB-839, in combination with everolimus, stops tumours growing in patients with advanced kidney cancer [ECCO] The first drug to target a key enzyme that cancer cells need to keep them alive has shown that it is effective in controlling disease in patients with advanced kidney cancer when it is used in combination with another anti-cancer drug, everolimus.
How highs and lows in testosterone levels ‘shock’ prostate cancer cells to death [ECCO] Traditionally, treatments for prostate cancer have involved lowering the levels of the male hormone (or androgen) testosterone using drugs called luteinising hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists, as it was thought that androgens stimulate the cancer cells to grow. However, Prof Denmeade says there is no evidence that testosterone promotes cancer.
‘Revolution in our understanding of cancer’ [ECCO] Dr Kapil Dhingra is a member of the executive committee for the 28th EORTC-NCI-AACR (ENA) Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics that is taking place in Munich, Germany.
Promising results from new drug combination in patients with advanced solid tumours [ECCO] In the study presented today, researchers from Italy, Switzerland, France and Belgium, enrolled 92 patients into a phase I trial in which TAS-114 was given to patients together with a chemotherapy called S-1, which is a fixed-dose combination of tegafur, gimeracil and oteracil.
	6. Lutte contre les cancers
Hallucinogenic Drug Psilocybin Eases Existential Anxiety in People With Life-Threatening Cancer [Johns Hopkins] In a small double-blind study, Johns Hopkins researchers report that a substantial majority of people suffering cancer-related anxiety or depression found considerable relief for up to six months from a single large dose of psilocybin — the active compound in hallucinogenic “magic mushrooms.”
Magic mushrooms drug shown to ease cancer patients’ depression [STAT] The US medical community is slowly embracing marijuana. Will magic mushrooms be next?
Hallucinogenic drugs help cancer patients deal with their fear of death [Science] Could a psychedelic drug help people who are dying of cancer face their fears? Two long awaited studies suggest that the hallucinogenic compound in magic mushrooms, psilocybin, could do just that.
Hallucinogen Eases Depression in Cancer Patients, Studies Find [NY Times] Psilocybin has been illegal in the United States for more than 40 years. But Mr. Mihai, who had just finished treatment for Stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, was participating in a study looking at whether the drug can reduce anxiety and depression in cancer patients.
Magic mushroom ingredient psilocybin can lift depression, studies show [The Guardian] The results of the research are published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology together with no less than ten commentaries from leading scientists in the fields of psychiatry and palliative care, who all back further research.
	6.1 Observation
Women with cancer 'should be told more about fertility options' [The Guardian] Girls and young women with cancer in the UK are not being given enough information about the options for safeguarding their chances of having children after treatment, fertility experts have said, while describing access to such technologies across the UK as “haphazard”.
	6.10 Politiques
Industry warns of Brexit uncertainty for thousands of medicines [Reuters] The post-Brexit status of prescription drugs will depend on whether Britain requires UK-specific licenses on day one or whether there is a transition period for transferring current product licenses to a new system.
	6.10.1 Politiques (USA)
Brushing Aside Critics, House Votes in Landslide for Cures Act [Xconomy] The bill promises to give patients more voice in the regulatory process and directs the FDA to include real-world data—from daily medical practice, not just from clinical trials—as part of its evaluation of products. The FDA has spoken cautiously about making those changes in the past.
House approves the 21st Century Cures Act, sending landmark bill to Senate [STAT] The Cures Act includes numerous provisions that set the stage for the faster approval of prescription drugs and medical devices. Although proponents claim these new measures will not lower safety standards, numerous critics, including some former Food and Drug Administration officials and national consumer groups, disagree.
The Current 21st Century Cures Legislation Is Still A Bad Deal For Patients [Health Affairs] Whereas the original bill was lauded for providing National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for the discovery of new medical advances, the current bill provides significantly less certainty in its support for prevention, research, and regulatory science.
Why Elizabeth Warren and medical researchers are worried about a new bill that boosts research funding [Vox] As Rita Redberg, editor of the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, wrote in a comment, this could amount to a dangerous trade-off: "In our rush to find new effective treatments, we should not harm our patients with ineffective toxic ones."
Why Patients Support the 21st Century Cures Act [Forbes] Why I’m writing is that I’ve read some stories suggesting that “Cures” is all about perks for pharmaceutical companies, and that industry-funded advocacy groups are parading patients, like puppets, before legislators to promote the bill.
	6.11 Patients
After he was gone, a shy man comes to life in words left behind [STAT] Wheeler’s family knew he was on the site, Inspire, all the time, and they knew the depth of some of the connections he’d made. What they didn’t know was the breadth of the affection he’d generated, and how he’d become a de facto leader of the community.
	6.3 Associations/Fondations
£226 million UK investment in cancer research announced [Cancer Research UK] Cancer Research UK has announced the largest investment to date into its network of Centres across the UK. £190 million has been committed to 13 Cancer Research UK Centres over the next five years.
	6.6 Publications
How to keep up with the scientific literature [Science] Beginning a new research project or writing a grant application can be good opportunities for extensive literature searches, but carving out time to keep abreast of newly published papers on a regular basis is often challenging. The task is all the more daunting today, with the already vast literature continuing to grow at head-spinning speed.
	6.7 DMP, Big Data & applis
Newly Developed CancerLinQ Discovery™ Translates Big Data into Practical Knowledge for Cancer Community [ASCO] AstraZeneca Joins CancerLinQ Discovery™ as Founding Enterprise Partner.