Onco Actu du 19 mai 2017

	1. Biologie
Century-old tumours could shed light on rare childhood cancers [The Guardian] Collection of samples found in hospital vault reveal genetic mutations that may be responsible for rarest forms of disease.
	3.1 Tabac
Customized, Frequent Emails Show Promise in Tobacco Cessation [ACS] “The overall quit rate for the main intervention group is about equivalent to the abstinence rates achieved by the most effective medication for cessation.”
Duterte Orders Strict Smoking Ban in Philippines, and Asks Citizens to Help [NY Times] The order also called on civilians to join a “Smoke Free Task Force to help carry out the provisions of this order” and apprehend and charge violators.
	3.3 Prévention - Vaccins
New study could boost vaccination argument for Merck's Gardasil [FiercePharma] As Gillison notes, no clinical trial has yet tested whether HPV vaccines protect against oral infections. Her study compared infection rates between those who received a shot of an HPV vaccine and those who did not, out of a group of 2,627 young adults aged 18 to 33.
	5. Traitements
Scientists to test Zika virus on brain tumours [Cancer Research UK] In glioblastoma, the cancer cells resemble those in the developing brain, suggesting that the Zika infection could attack them too.
Scientists to test whether Zika can kill brain cancer cells [Reuters] "If we can learn lessons from Zika's ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and target brain stem cells selectively, we could be holding the key to future treatments."
	5.10 Traitements - Essais
The future of clinical trials considered during Dean’s Lecture Series address [Stanford Medicine] A number of changes could affect the future of clinical trials, including the increased involvement of health-care providers, said Thomas Pike, the former CEO of Quintiles, during a talk here last week.
	5.2 Pharma
Novartis data at ASCO, ICML and EHA meetings demonstrate meaningful advancements in cancer care [Novartis] Updated analyses from the Kisqali® pivotal Phase III MONALEESA-2 trial in hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 negative (HR+/HER2-) advanced breast cancer to be presented at ASCO.
	5.3.4 Traitements - AMM (FDA, EMA)
FDA Approves Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) for Certain Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma, a Type of Bladder Cancer [Merck] KEYTRUDA is the Only Anti-PD-1 Therapy to Demonstrate Superior Overall Survival Versus Chemotherapy in Patients With Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma Post-Platinum Failure.
Pebrolizumab (Keytruda): Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma [FDA] The accelerated approval for the first-line indication was based on data from KEYNOTE-052, a single-arm, open-label trial in 370 patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who were deemed not eligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy.
	5.4 Traitements - Economie
High drug prices: Don’t let industry excuses go unchecked–or patient voices go unheard [HealthNewsReview] Since most of the larger patient organizations get some of their funding from the drug companies, Mitchell says they function as “pharma’s tentacles including academic groups, specialists and politicians” to defend the current system.
Clinical trial participants should have a say in new drug pricing [STAT] I propose that every drug company should have to work with its clinical trial participants to set a price limit on the new medication, should it come to market, and to put this limit into a binding contract.
	5.5.1.1 ASCO (général) - Industriels
Myriad Genetics to Present Seven Studies at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting [Myriad] Presentations Highlight Continued Advancements in Hereditary Cancer Panel Testing.
Incyte climbs on combo data for IDO inhibitor epacadostat [FierceBiotech] Incyte has already pushed epacadostat into phase 3 testing alongside Keytruda for all four tumor types, and reckons the combination of IDO1 and PD-1 blockade could be a cornerstone in immuno-oncology therapy, especially as the two drugs seemed to be well tolerated.
Bayer to Highlight Oncology Franchise Research at ASCO 2017 [Bayer] Features findings from the pivotal Phase II trial of the investigational compound copanlisib in patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), as well as latest research on sorafenib, regorafenib, radium-223 dichloride and darolutamide (ODM-201).
#ASCO17: Epizyme will hunt a quick OK for tazemetostat, despite disappointing analysts with new data [EndPoints] As the dust began to settle from the ASCO abstract drop last night, several analysts weighed in noting their cautious lack of optimism for Epizyme’s latest look at the data for tazemetostat, its EZH2 inhibitor now in Phase II for epithelioid sarcoma.
	5.5.16 ASCO (médecine de précision)
Number of Mutations in a Tumor Varies by Age and Type of Cancer [GUMC] “Older age correlated closely with TML in most of the cancers we examined, but in some cancers, such as bladder cancer, there was no correlation by age, which also makes for an important observation in a difficult to treat type of cancer.”
	5.5.2 ASCO (sein)
ASCO: Lilly's abemaciclib vs. Pfizer's Ibrance? Too early to make a call, analysts say [FierceBiotech] “It’s impossible to compare hazard ratios when the trial populations (and the median in the comparator arm) are so different.”
	5.5.5 ASCO (gastro-intestinal)
Roche builds case for T-cell bispecific-anti-PD-L1 combo [FierceBiotech] While the data feature a small proportion of partial responses and no complete responses, in the context of the patient population they represent encouraging findings.
	5.5.8 ASCO (poumon)
ASCO: Merck's Keytruda-chemo combo approach racks up more support with positive overall survival data [FierceBiotech] Now, though, the OS evidence supports “the overall concept of adding together” a PD-1/PD-L1 med and chemo, Anderson wrote. “There have been concerns that chemotherapy might adversely impact the immune system, thereby rendering immune-activation by a PDx ineffective if given in combination, and negating any OS benefit.”
	6.1 Observation
Study estimates number of U.S. women living with metastatic breast cancer [NIH] The researchers also found that median and five-year relative survival for women initially diagnosed with MBC is improving, especially among younger women.
More Women Are Living Longer With Metastatic Breast Cancer, But Questions Remain [Forbes] “We know breast cancer is not just one disease,” O’Brien said. “I’m cautious about the survival data. How do we know which patients those are, who are living longer?”
	6.10 Politiques
Two female scientists and a militant environmentalist join Emmanuel Macron’s new government [Science] And as it happens, she has a bit of a conflict herself: Buzyn is married to Yves Lévy, who leads the €1 billion French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, which is jointly overseen by the research and health ministries. It’s unclear how she will handle that issue.
	6.10.1 Politiques (USA)
Ex-NIH director warns mooted Trump funding cuts would ‘disembowel’ U.S. research institutions [FierceBiotech] Varmus is well placed to comment on the NIH, having served as director of the institute from 1993 to 1999 before returning to lead the National Cancer Institute from 2010 to 2015. And his concerns about the proposal are shared by others, both within NIH today and among the organizations that rely on it for funding.
	6.6 Publications
Four in 10 biomedical papers out of China are tainted by misconduct, says new survey [Retraction Watch] The reason causing the misconduct is the scientific assessment system. So we are trying to [change] that and hopefully with all this work, we can really help the scientists to do real research and publish quality papers.