Onco Actu du 23 juin 2017

	1. Biologie
The presence of the protein KIF1Bβ can play a central role for the outcome of a neuroblastoma diagnosis [Karolinska Institutet] In the present study, the researchers showed that absence of KIF1Bβ contributes to normal neuroblasts not maturing into nerve cells and to a more immature neuroblastoma with a poorer prognosis.
Grappling with cancers that break all the rules [STAT] We must recommit to rigorous but “basic” biological research. What we’ve learned from the many failed trials for brain cancers is that they are a highly complex and adaptable foe, adept at evading treatments of all classes.
	2.5 Etiologie - Gènes
Everything is genetic, isn't it? [The Mermaid's Tale] The focus and promises from the genetics interests assume that environment has nothing serious to do with the genetic effects. But it's a major, often by far the major, factor, and it may even in principle be far more changeable than genetic variation.
	4.7 Dép., diag. & prono. - Col de l'utérus
New ethical lapses alleged in controversial India cervical cancer screening trial [STAT] Suba’s paper contends, based on a review of the new documents, that the researchers might have engaged in “data falsification” to support their claims that cancers were caught earlier and deaths reduced.
	4.9 Dép., diag. & prono. - Sein
OB-GYNs Give Women More Say In When They Have Mammograms [NPR] Now the group says providers should offer the test when a woman enters her 40s, and that after a discussion, she may opt to start screening. If she doesn't, she should start by age 50, ACOG says.
U.S. physicians move to more flexible mammogram schedule [Reuters] Amid divided expert opinions on whether more screenings are beneficial, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), which previously recommended yearly screenings starting at age 40, wants to stress shared decision-making between women and their doctors based on their personal preferences in the new, more flexible schedule.
	5.12 Immunothérapies
Was Bristol-Myers Squibb’s assay to blame for Opdivo’s first-line lung flop? [FiercePharma] Full results from Bristol-Myers Squibb’s infamous Opdivo monotherapy trial in first-line lung cancer are finally out—alongside a theory about why that trial came up short. Some analysts, though, aren’t buying the new hypothesis.
	5.12.3 Immunothérapies-combinaisons
News Feature: Radiation redux [PNAS] Could traditional radiation treatments work in concert with immunotherapy to mount a more effective assault on cancer?
	5.2.3 Pharma - économie
Versant carefully sets the stage for a $68M debut of a biotech player focused on synthetic lethality [EndPoints] Their first program involves DNA-directed DNA polymerase theta — PolQ — included in a pathway that repairs double-strand breaks in cancer cells.
	5.3 Traitements - FDA, EMA, NICE...
Rare cancers through the looking glass [Pharmafile] In the case of rare cancers, what is the EMA doing to pave the path for drug developers and speed up evaluation so these medicines can reach patients faster?
	5.3.4 Traitements - AMM (FDA, EMA)
Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 19-22 June 2017 [EMA] Two cancer medicines received a positive opinion from the CHMP: Kisqali (ribociclib) for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer and Fotivda (tivozanib) for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.
Novartis combination targeted therapy Tafinlar® + Mekinist® receives FDA approval for BRAF V600E mutant metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [Novartis] More than 60% of treatment-naïve and previously treated patients with BRAF V600E mutant metastatic NSCLC responded to Tafinlar + Mekinist in a pivotal study.
FDA Approves Rituxan Hycela (Rituximab and Hyaluronidase Human) for Subcutaneous Injection in Certain Blood Cancers [Genentech] Treatment can be administered in five to seven minutes, compared to 1.5 hours or more for intravenous Rituxan.
FDA grants regular approval to dabrafenib and trametinib combination for metastatic NSCLC with BRAF V600E mutation [FDA] These are the first FDA approvals specifically for treatment of patients with BRAF V600E mutation-positive metastatic NSCLC.
FDA Grants Regular Approval to Dabrafenib and Trametinib Combination for Metastatic NSCLC with BRAF V600E Mutation [ESMO] FDA also approved the NGS test to detect the presence of BRAF, ROS1, and EGFR gene mutations or alterations in NSCLC tumour tissue.
European regulators greenlight U.S. biotech's kidney cancer drug [Reuters] The drug was also backed for treating adult patients with advanced kidney cancer who met certain criteria and had received one prior treatment with cytokine therapy, the EMA said.
Novartis breast cancer drug Kisqali wins European panel backing [Reuters] Friday's announcement, while expected, underscores Novartis's push to strengthen an oncology portfolio hurt last year by the patent expiration on blood cancer drug Glivec, exposing what was once its top-selling medicine to growing generic competition.
FDA approves more convenient form of Roche blood cancer drug [Reuters] The FDA approval is based on clinical studies that demonstrated that subcutaneous administration of Rituxan Hycela resulted in similar levels of the antibody in the blood with comparable clinical efficacy compared with intravenous Rituxan.
	5.9.3 EHA
Novartis pivotal CTL019 6-month follow-up data show durable remission rates in children, young adults with r/r B-cell ALL [Novartis] 83% of patients achieved complete remission (CR) or CR with incomplete blood count recovery within 3 months of treatment with CTL019; consistent with interim ELIANA data.
Novartis data shows half of eligible Ph+ CML-CP patients remain in Treatment-free Remission nearly two years after stopping Tasigna® [Novartis] New 96-week data support durability and safety of Treatment-free Remission (TFR) in Ph+ CML-CP patients who stop taking Tasigna.
AbbVie Announces Pivotal Phase 2 Trial Evaluating VENCLYXTO™ (venetoclax) in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) with 17p Deletion to be Presented at 22nd European Hematology Association (EHA) Annual Congress [AbbVie] First oral presentation of full Phase 2 trial results with overall response rate (ORR), inclusive of complete and partial remission rates.
	6.10.1 Politiques (USA)
ASCO Opposes Senate Healthcare Bill, Urges Lawmakers to Reject Measure [ASCO] The Senate bill could threaten decades of progress against cancer by exacerbating the barriers to life-extending care that too many patients already face.
	6.6 Publications
US court grants Elsevier millions in damages from Sci-Hub [Nature] Alexandra Elbakyan, a former neuroscientist who started Sci-Hub in 2011, operates the site out of Russia, using varying domain names and IP addresses.
	6.8 Communication
Report calls for action to prevent confusion over medicines [European Pharmaceutical Review] The new report highlights the significant difficulties patients and some healthcare professionals face in using evidence from research to judge the benefits and harms of medicines, and calls for concerted action to improve the information patients receive.
	6.9 Controverses
Chinese courts call for death penalty for researchers who commit fraud [STAT] So there’s room to strengthen penalties without taking the draconian step of invoking the death penalty. Some of that may requiring rewriting relevant statutes, to give agencies overseeing research funds more authority.