Onco Actu du 14 février 2017

	1. Biologie
Cold Spring Harbor scientists discover protein driver of prostate, lung cancer [FierceBiotech] Mutations in the gene that encodes PTEN are commonly found in prostate cancer, lung cancer and other tumor types. But some patients with abnormally low levels of PTEN don’t carry any mutations in that gene—raising the question of what may be causing the protective protein to break down in those people.
Gene editing stem cells with CRISPR could help understand brain tumours [Cancer Research UK] Now, for the first time, a team of scientists led by Pollard has succeeded in using CRISPR to change genes in specialised neural stem cells, which are thought to play a role in how the most common type of brain tumour, glioblastoma, grows.
	3.4 Chimioprévention
GPs need help promoting the benefits of cancer preventing drugs [Cancer Research UK] “Some centres are providing information on preventive therapy, but this is patchy,” says Smith. “To ensure all patients are able to make an informed decision – standardised information is needed.” And there are ways to do this without reinventing the wheel.
More support needed for GPs to make best use of cancer preventing drugs [Cancer Research UK] The report explores how much GPs know about two drugs that can reduce the risk of cancer – tamoxifen for women at high risk of breast cancer and aspirin for people with Lynch Syndrome, a condition that increases the risk of several types of cancer.
Breast cancer pill denied to 500,000 women [The Telegraph] Three in four family doctors are not aware they should be offering pills – costing around 6p a day – which can reduce the risk of disease by one third.
Half of GPs unaware of drug's use in cancer prevention – study [The Guardian] Delyth Morgan, chief executive of the charity Breast Cancer Now, said: “It is extremely concerning that many women at an increased risk of breast cancer are still not being offered the choice of taking tamoxifen to reduce their risk."
	4. Dépistage, diagnostic et pronostic
Lynx Bio Makes Headway on New Diagnostic for Blood Cancer Drugs [Xconomy] The ultimate goal is to be able to test cancer drugs—either alone or in combination with others—on a patient’s own cells, so that people caring for the patient can create an individualized treatment regimen.
The harms of cancer screening: It’s time to get personal [HealthNewsReview] As we’ve seen occur on many science-based topics, there’s often a disconnect between what the science shows and what many in the public think. When it comes to something as vital as cancer screening, how do journalists help the two align better?
	4.9 Dép., diag. & prono. - Sein
Mammography Screening: Benefits and Potential Risks [Cancer Research Catalyst] A research study published this week in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), has shed new light on potential adverse consequences of false-positive results from a screening mammogram.
	5. Traitements
Penis shrinkage, a side effect of prostate cancer surgery, is temporary, study finds [STAT] The study of 102 prostate cancer patients in Japan “can help men to better understand the risks of a radical prostatectomy and make an informed choice when selecting a treatment option.”
Combination Therapy Improves Survival for Some Men with Recurrent Prostate Cancer [NCI] In the trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive bicalutamide (Casodex®) or a placebo for 24 months, along with 6.5 weeks of radiation therapy. When the trial began in 1998, bicalutamide was a commonly used treatment to prevent androgens (male sex hormones) from fueling the growth and spread of tumors in men with prostate cancer.
	5.2 Pharma
Can Roche's Herceptin-Perjeta combo expand yet again? Check the impending data [FiercePharma] Herceptin and Perjeta. The duo is approved, alongside chemo, to treat metastatic breast cancer and early-stage breast cancer before surgery. And those combo nods are credited with pushing up sales of both meds. Now, Roche is hoping that the combo will deliver in yet another setting: breast cancer after surgery.
	5.2.2 Pharma - Fusions & Acquisitions
Activists slam Immunomedics’ $2B deal with Seattle Genetics in the middle of a proxy war [EndPoints] “Immunomedics’ announcement of a deal with Seattle Genetics is a blatant and shameful maneuver by the current Board and management to manipulate the outcome of the upcoming Annual Meeting and entrench themselves at the expense of stockholders’ best interests."
	5.4 Traitements - Economie
NICE backs routine use of Incyte’s leukaemia drug [PharmaTimes] The independent appraisal committee has concluded that the drug can be considered a clinical and cost effective use of NHS resources when used to treat these rare forms of the disease, noting that it offers benefits over other treatments such as Pfizer's Bosulif (bosutinib).
Ponatinib for treating chronic myeloid leukaemia and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia [NICE] The appraisal committee reviewed the data available on the clinical and cost effectiveness of ponatinib, having considered evidence on the nature of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and the value placed on the benefits of ponatinib by people with the condition, those who represent them, and clinical experts. It also took into account the effective use of NHS resources.
	5.5 ASCO
2017 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium Kicks Off with Hot Topics [OBR blog] The 2017 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium takes place in Orlando, FL, on February 16 – 18, and a press cast held in advance of the meeting featured 3 important abstracts.
In Advanced Kidney Cancer, Antibiotic Use Lowers Efficacy of Immunotherapy [ASCO] According to the authors, this study is the first to analyze the impact of antibiotics on immune checkpoint inhibitors and provides the first evidence of a relationship between the gut microbiome (microbes residing in the gut) and patients’ response to immunotherapy.
Blood Test Uncovers Potential New Treatment Targets in Advanced Prostate Cancer [ASCO] Using a commercially available “liquid biopsy” test in patients with advanced prostate cancer, researchers found a number of genetic changes in cell-free, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).
Some Patients Experience Long-Term Tumor Control Even After Stopping Immunotherapy Early [ASCO] Among patients with advanced kidney cancer who stopped PD1/PD-L1 immunotherapy early due to side effects, 42% had a durable response, meaning they were able to remain off additional systemic therapy for 6 months or more.
	6. Lutte contre les cancers
He vowed to cure cancer. But this billionaire’s moonshot is falling far short of the hype [STAT] At its core, the initiative appears to be an elaborate marketing tool for Soon-Shiong — a way to promote his pricey new cancer diagnostic tool at a time when he badly needs a business success, as his publicly-traded companies are losing tens of millions per quarter.
Yemen cancer patients struggle to survive war shortages [Reuters] Medicine shelves at the oncology center are bare, and desperate patients have to scour the black market, according to the facility's vice president, Abdelwahab El Nahmy.
	6.10.1 Politiques (USA)
'Right to Try' is a sham [The Hill] A pediatric oncologist responded, “If you had seen, as I have, children with cancer being given experimental drugs who were 'tortured' by the drugs as they died, you would not be so cavalier.” Those words changed my perspective.
	6.6 Publications
German scientists regain access to Elsevier journals [Nature] Publisher restores access as negotiations for a nationwide licence continue.
Acknowledging and Overcoming Nonreproducibility in Basic and Preclinical Research [JAMA] The research community should reassess whether it can have the luxury of continuing to fund so much research that is nonreproducible.