Onco Actu du 24 mars 2017

	1. Biologie
Mass. General team identifies mechanisms behind resistance to FGFR inhibitor drug [Mass. General Hospital] In a paper appearing in the March issue of Cancer Discovery, the researchers describe finding novel resistance mechanisms in three patients receiving fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitor treatment for a type of liver cancer
	2.5 Etiologie - Gènes
DNA typos to blame for most cancer mutations [Nature] Environment and heredity might not contribute as much to cancer risk as researchers thought.
Most cancer mutations arise from ‘bad luck,’ but many cases still preventable, researchers say [STAT] “They did it right this time,” Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, said of the authors.
New Study Finds That Most Cancer Mutations are Due to Random DNA Copying ‘Mistakes’ [Johns Hopkins] “It is well-known that we must avoid environmental factors such as smoking to decrease our risk of getting cancer. But it is not as well-known that each time a normal cell divides and copies its DNA to produce two new cells, it makes multiple mistakes.”
Cancer Is Partly Caused By Bad Luck, Study Finds [NPR] Vogelstein says parents often think they, somehow, are responsible for their child's cancer, but that is not the case. "They need to understand that these cancers would have happened no matter what they did," he says. "We don't need to add guilt to an already tragic situation."
Two thirds of cancers are unavoidable even if you live a healthy life, study finds [The Telegraph] The discovery helps explain why cancer often strikes people who follow all the rules of healthy living and have no family history of the disease.
More than two-thirds of cancer mutations are due to random DNA copying errors, study says [Washington Post] Brian Druker, director of the Oregon Health and Science University's Knight Cancer Institute, said it provided a data framework “to understand much of what we already know about cancer epidemiology.” Often, he said, he sees cancer patients who have had a healthy lifestyle and are looking for an explanation for their disease. “Often there isn’t one,” he said.
‘Bad luck’ with random DNA errors is responsible for two-thirds of cancer mutations, study says [LA Times] Their findings, they said, “complement rather than oppose” authoritative estimates suggesting that 42% of cancer cases could be prevented with improvements to lifestyle and environment.
Debate reignites over the contributions of ‘bad luck’ mutations to cancer [Science] “Of course these are estimates,” said Tomasetti at a press conference on Wednesday. “It’s the best that can be done today. It’s a paradigm shift in how we think about cancer.”
Is cancer just a matter of random bad luck? [CNN] In a previous research paper published in 2015, Tomasetti and Vogelstein used a mathematical model to first present this idea that cancer risk is strongly correlated with the total number of divisions undergone by normal cells.
Two thirds of cancers caused by random genetic mistakes: U.S. study [Reuters] "These cancers will occur no matter how perfect the environment," said Dr. Bert Vogelstein, a cancer geneticist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore whose study was published in the journal Science.
	4.10 Dép., diag. & prono. - Poumon
Health coalition forms National Lung Cancer Roundtable to increase screening and reduce lung cancer deaths [ACS] AstraZeneca-supported effort aims to improve early detection of lung cancer and ensure quality care for all stages of the disease.
	4.12 Biopsies liquides
Blood test detects cancer and pinpoints location...before symptoms appear [The Telegraph] The test, called CancerLocator, has been developed by the University of California, and works by hunting for the DNA from tumours which circulates in the blood of cancer patients.
	5. Traitements
Giving pancreatic cancer patients better opportunities to join clinical trials [Cancer Research UK] “It can take a long time to get patients through the current system and into a trial. By that time, it’s often too late, because the patient is no longer well enough,” says Biankin.
New era in precision medicine for pancreatic cancer [Cancer Research UK] The researchers will use the molecular profile of each individual cancer to offer patients and their doctor a menu of trials that might benefit them.
Major pancreatic cancer study launched [BBC News] Cancer Research have invested £10m in the PRECISION-Panc project, which aims to find quick ways of finding the right treatment for individual tumours. Researchers at Glasgow University will receive £8m from the fund.
	5.10 Traitements - Essais
NIH achieves milestone to accelerate multisite clinical studies [NIH] This agreement — which now includes a total of more than 150 top medical research institutions — will enable all participating study sites to rely on the ethics review of one IRB for each study, making it possible to initiate multisite studies within weeks instead of months.
	5.2.2 Pharma - Fusions & Acquisitions
BioLineRx buys Agalimmune to expand cancer pipeline [FierceBiotech] Agalimmune has tested the candidate in a preclinical model of melanoma and run combination studies with a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor that BioLineRx sees as suggesting it can broaden the use of such therapeutics while boosting the rate and duration of the responses they trigger.
Tessa buys Euchloe for suite of checkpoint inhibitors [FierceBiotech] The takeover gives Tessa antibodies against PD-1, PD-L1, CTLA-4 and other targets that it sees complementing its own virus-specific T cells. Euchloe spun out of A*STAR’s Singapore Immunology Network last year, only to be snapped up quickly by its compatriot Tessa.
	5.3 Traitements - FDA, EMA, NICE...
Bidding war for European Medicines Agency intensifies as Article 50 trigger looms [Science Business] According to officials in Brussels, six countries – Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands – appear the most likely new hosts.
Use of big data to improve human and animal health [EMA] Task force to establish roadmap and recommendations for use of big data in assessment of medicines.
	5.3.4 Traitements - AMM (FDA, EMA)
Pfizer, Merck KGaA score watershed FDA nod on cancer immunotherapy Bavencio [FierceBiotech] Pfizer and Merck are studying Bavencio in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), kidney cancer, ovarian cancer, bladder cancer and others, and it’s testing the med alongside some of Pfizer’s other meds in combination approaches.
Pfizer, Merck KGaA score a landmark FDA OK for checkpoint contender avelumab [EndPoints] The approval marks another big advance for Pfizer, which paid $850 million upfront to partner with Germany’s Merck — a record sum.
FDA approves first treatment for rare form of skin cancer [FDA] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today granted accelerated approval to Bavencio (avelumab) for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), including those who have not received prior chemotherapy. This is the first FDA-approved treatment for metastatic MCC, a rare, aggressive form of skin cancer.
FDA approves Pfizer, German Merck immunotherapy for skin cancer [Reuters] It marks the first immunotherapy approval for the collaboration of Pfizer and Germany-based Merck, which has been playing catch-up with rivals, such as Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, Merck & Co and Roche Holding AG .
	5.9 AACR
Bayer to Showcase Data on Growing Oncology Pipeline at AACR 2017 [Bayer] Results from pivotal Phase II trial CHRONOS-1 of investigational PI3K inhibitor copanlisib selected for oral presentation at congress’ Clinical Trial Session / Early research findings from across the company’s oncology development portfolio will also be presented.
	6.1 Observation
Colorectal Cancer Incidence Rising in Young Adults: An Interview with Drs. Philip Rosenberg and William Anderson [NCI] This study confirms—using the most recent SEER data—a trend that had been reported previously. We do not yet know the reasons for the increases in incidence rates.
	6.6 Publications
The findings of medical research are disseminated too slowly [The Economist] That is about to change.
Gates Foundation announces open-access publishing venture [Nature] Along similar lines, the European Commission (EC) is considering its own open-access publishing platform for outputs from its €80-billion (US$86-billion) Horizon 2020 research programme.