Onco Actu du 18 janvier 2017

	1. Biologie
Protein identified by Mass. General team may protect tumor-initiating cells in breast cancer [Mass. General Hospital] “The possibility that some breast cancer cells with vast proliferative potential may be intrinsically resistant to standard therapies may partially explain why tumors relapse after treatment".
Stanford researchers defend NIH and relevance of basic research [Stanford Medicine] “Research in basic biology is an uncertain business. Pharma and biotech don’t fund this type of research because it’s too unpredictable and long-term. But almost all new drugs developed in the past few decades couldn’t have been developed without new basic biology discoveries.”
How epigenetic changes prime pancreatic cancer cells to spread [STAT] People have simply assumed that metastases are caused by some sort of mutation. We set out to find if epigenetic changes could cause distant metastases, starting with pancreatic tumors.
How the Microbiome Can Affect Cancer [Cancer Research Catalyst] The mechanisms by which gut microorganisms contribute to cancer formation are just beginning to be understood.
	2.12 Etiologie - UV
Sun exposure at work could lead to one skin cancer death a week [Cancer Research UK] The researchers, based at Imperial College London (link is external), estimated that there are 48 deaths and 241 cases of melanoma skin cancer each year in Britain caused by ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun at work.
	3.1 Tabac
Big Tobacco's $49 Billion Deal Is a Real Drag [Bloomberg] The punchy price shows how badly BAT management wanted to create a global tobacco company. Others in the sector may end up doing similar.
	4.2 Dép., diag. & prono. - Génome
Cancer genetics refine treatment decisions [EMBL-EBI] They estimate that up to one in three patients would be prescribed a different treatment regimen using the tool compared with current practice.
	5. Traitements
Researchers investigate new targeted therapy for metastatic prostate cancer [Stanford Medicine] As described in a paper appearing in the January issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, the researchers found that 45 percent of the patients responded positively to lutetium-177-PSMA-617 following all therapy cycles, while 40 percent responded positively after a single cycle.
	5.10 Traitements - Essais
New rule on clinical trial reporting doesn’t go far enough [STAT] In a perfect world, the FDA would receive more funding to hire employees so it could independently enforce this policy. In the meantime, researchers can check the reporting practices of their own institutions or sign a petition to support the Alltrials campaign.
	5.12 Immunothérapies
Mass. General researchers identify new target for cancer immunotherapy [Mass. general Hospital] Blocking receptor broadly expressed on both regulatory T cells and tumor cells may fight cancer in two ways.
AstraZeneca delays PD-L1 data in rejig of phase 3 program [FierceBiotech] In stepping up its interest in the monotherapy, AstraZeneca has created a source of debate for those trying to read the tea leaves.
AZ expands first-line cancer immunotherapy programme [PharmaTimes] AstraZeneca has expanded a late-stage trial currently assessing a potential new immuno-oncology (IO) therapy combination for the first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), to include extra endpoints for both the combo and monotherapy.
Lagging further behind, AstraZeneca adds fresh details to its checkpoint comeback strategy [EndPoints] The MYSTIC study has been enrolling lung cancer patients regardless of PD-L1 expression status. In its statement today the pharma giant says it will evaluate progression-free survival as well as overall survival for durvalumab combined with tremelimumab.
	5.3 Traitements - FDA, EMA, NICE...
At long last, FDA Issues Guidance on Biosimilar Interchangeability [FDA Law Blog] FDA's draft interchangeability guidance is incredibly important for biosimilar and reference product manufacturers alike. As of now, only four biosimilar products have been approved, and none of them are considered interchangeable.
Introducing IMEDS, a Public-Private Resource for Evidence Generation [FDA Voice] FDA has been working to establish a national resource for FDA-approved medical products that can be used by public and private-sector entities, including regulated industry, to conduct large scale evaluations of safety issues in an environment that is secure and protects patient privacy.
	5.4 Traitements - Economie
Drugs For Rare Diseases Have Become Uncommonly Rich Monopolies [NPR] The companies aren't breaking the law but they are using the Orphan Drug Act to their advantage in ways that its architects say they didn't foresee or intend.
The top 15 best-selling cancer drugs in 2022 [FiercePharma] All told, by 2022, the top 15 cancer drugs are expected to collectively make almost $90 billion in sales. To put that in perspective, that represents about one-fourth of the entire U.S. pharma market in 2014, according to QuintilesIMS data. It's also bigger than pharma's haul in Japan or China that year.
	5.5.5 ASCO (gastro-intestinal)
Watch-and-Wait Approach for Rectal Cancer Appears an Option for More Patients [ASCO] Study data were collected through the International Watch and Wait Database Consortium (IWWD), which includes 35 institutions in 11 countries. According to the authors, this represents the largest series of patients with rectal cancer for whom surgery was omitted after chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
PET Scans Can Inform and Improve Treatment for Patients With Esophageal Cancer [ASCO] Following an initial PET scan, 257 patients with stage II-III esophageal and GEJ adenocarcinoma were randomly assigned to one of two induction chemotherapy regimens: modified FOLFOX-6 or carboplatin/paclitaxel.
	6. Lutte contre les cancers
22 Biopharma Companies Partner and Launch First-of-its-kind Global Initiative to Address Rise of Non-Communicable Diseases [PR Newswire] Global, multi-stakeholder collaboration, called Access Accelerated, to be delivered in partnership with World Bank Group and Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).
Superbugs could make cancer 'untreatable' and wipe out 100 years of modern medicine [Mirror] Britain's top doctor has warned that superbugs could make simple operations risky and cancer treatment pointless, after the first case of a death that could not be treated by all 26 antibiotics available.
Drugmakers in Davos shift focus to chronic diseases of poor [Reuters] Two decades after they were spurred into action to tackle AIDS in Africa, global drugmakers said on Wednesday they would invest $50 million over three years to fight cancer and other non-communicable diseases in poor countries.
	6.6 Publications
Breast cancer studies by fired Pfizer employee retracted [Retraction Watch] One notice cites the Pfizer investigation, which found that cancer researcher Min-Jean Yin had included duplicated images in all five papers. Yin is the last author on both retracted papers.
	6.7 DMP, Big Data & applis
Built for the Future. Study Shows Wearable Devices Can Help Detect Illness Early [NIH Director's blog] Reports like this one offer hope. They remind us that we’re getting closer to a new data-driven era when your smartphone could be your dashboard for everyday health maintenance.
	6.8 Communication
Pancreatic cancer PR spin: Another reason for Yale University to review our educational resources [HealthNewsReview] At an even more basic level, the tweet, the news release, and even the study that they are all based on misreport the nature of the evidence. They confuse association with causation.
The New Health Care: How to Prevent Whiplash From Ever-Changing Medical Advice [NY Times] Most often, recommendations fail because they aren’t supported by high-quality research. They have only observational trials behind them, not the full weight of randomized controlled trials.
	6.9 Controverses
From Twitter To Treatment Guidelines, Industry Influence Permeates Medicine [NPR] The long arm of the pharmaceutical industry continues to pervade practically every area of medicine, reaching those who write guidelines that shape doctors' practices, patient advocacy organizations, letter writers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and even oncologists on Twitter, according to a series of papers on money and influence published Tuesday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Behind patient advocacy groups, donors are exerting a powerful force, study says [STAT] “They are increasing in number and are extremely powerful in terms of their public trust and the many ways they can influence public policy and health care delivery,” she said. “Their hands are in pretty much all aspects of biomedical clinical care and research.”
Conflicts of interest in medicine: pervasive, worrisome, and detrimental to healthcare [HealthNewsReview] Conflicts of interest with patient advocacy groups are particularly disconcerting because of the potential to directly misguide patients. These groups now have — for better and for worse — an extended reach and influence on the Internet.
Industry money may taint advice from patient groups, regulators [Reuters] As a social worker, Susannah Rose referred clients with cancer to patient advocacy groups she trusted to dispense unbiased advice - until she heard the groups might be taking money from pharmaceutical companies. So she set out to investigate.