Onco Actu du 5 septembre 2017

	1. Biologie
New insight into how excess belly fat may increase cancer risk [NHS Choices] The study involved both research in mice and tests on human fat cells in the laboratory.
Adipose Tissue May Affect Cancer Development in Multiple Ways [AACR] Review indicates need to further explore relationship between fat and cancer.
Cancer’s Invasion Equation [The New Yorker] Part of the seduction of cancer genetics is that it purports to explain the unity and the diversity of cancer in one swoop. For ecologists, by contrast, everything is a relationship among a complex assemblage of factors.
	4.1 Dép., diag. & prono. - Prostate
A new study claims prostate cancer screenings significantly reduce deaths. Not everyone agrees [STAT] Some experts in cancer screening and statistics said its novel approach was “on shaky ground” and used a “completely unverifiable” methodology that they had “never seen before,” but others praised its “intriguing and innovative approach.”
New Study Offers Support for Prostate Testing [NY Times] Critics of screening say the new analysis does not change much in the calculation of risks versus benefits of screening. Only 3 percent of men die of prostate cancer, so the benefit of screening, in the number of prostate cancer deaths averted, is small in absolute terms.
Prostate cancer test saves lives, risks remain [Reuters] “The controversy about PSA-based screening should no longer be whether it can do good but whether we can change our behavior so that it does more good than harm,” wrote Vickers.
	4.10 Dép., diag. & prono. - FDA, EMA, NICE,...
FDA clears mammography device with option for patient-assisted compression [FDA] The Senographe Pristina with Self-Compression is a digital mammography system designed to give the patient an active role in the application of compression.
	4.12 Biopsies liquides
DNA and protein 'liquid biopsy' for early pancreatic cancer better than either alone [EurekAlert!] "This study shows that it may be possible to use multiple markers to nail down the detection of early pancreatic cancer with a blood test, and treat those patients earlier and better."
	5.12.1 Immunothérapies - partenariats
Takeda partners with Noile-Immune on next-gen CAR-T pipeline for solid tumors [EndPoints] There are no financial details in the statement.
Takeda and Noile-Immune Biotech Collaborate to Advance Next Generation CAR-T Cell Therapy Effective for Solid Tumors [Takeda] The next generation CAR-T cell therapy was developed by Professor Koji Tamada at Yamaguchi University and Noile-Immune has exclusive license for this platform technology.
	5.12.2 Immunothérapies - CAR-T
Cellectis shares slump as death puts cell therapy tests on hold [Reuters] Shares in the company fell 26 percent in morning trade following the U.S. regulator’s decision to place a so-called clinical hold on two early-stage trials of the medicine in blood cancers.
Cellectis Reports Clinical Hold of UCART123 Studies [Cellectis] Cellectis is working closely with the investigators and the FDA in order to resume the trials with an amended protocol including a lowered dosing of UCART123.
In staggering setback, toxic reaction kills Cellectis’ first CAR-T patient, forcing trial halt [EndPoints] According to the biotech, which is based in Paris with R&D operations in New York, a 78-year-old patient suffering from blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) died 8 days after receiving the biotech’s first dose of the cell therapy.
	5.12.3 Immunothérapies-combinaisons
FDA warns public over Keytruda myeloma combo risks in wake of Merck trial deaths [FiercePharma] The therapy still has the lead in the all-important lung cancer space, though, and that's not likely to change any time soon. Merck boasts both solo and combo approvals for Keytruda in the frontline setting, and its rivals' attempts to score those nods have both fallen short.
	5.12.5 Immunothérapies - Pharma
Innate Immunotherapeutics likely to shutter, CEO says [STAT] Price disclosed he sold shares after joining HHS — and reportedly made a nice profit — but Innate’s announcement brings further embarrassment for Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), Innate’s largest shareholder.
	5.12.8 Immunothérapies - Economie
At $475,000, new cancer drug raises thorny questions about drug pricing — and value [STAT] If the company wants to dispel the notion that it will profit excessively on the backs of cancer patients and U.S. taxpayers, it needs to provide more information. Value, after all, is in the eye of the beholder.
A $475,000 cancer drug: Wall Street sees ‘bargain’; patients see ‘completely broken’ system [HealthNewsReview] In other words, $475,000 represents the price of the drug only and the other costs still need to be factored in. As STAT wisely pointed out in its investor-focused coverage, those additional costs may make Kymriah much less of a “bargain” for patients and insurers.
	5.2 Pharma
Novartis Calls for the Doctor [Bloomberg] Swiss giant is looking a little too comfortable and needs a fresh pair of eyes.
Novartis announces CEO Joseph Jimenez to retire from Novartis in 2018. Vasant Narasimhan appointed CEO, effective February 1, 2018. [Novartis] The Board of Directors has appointed Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan, M.D., Global Head of Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, as CEO of Novartis, effective February 1, 2018.
Novartis names drugs chief as CEO to deliver return to growth [Reuters] Jimenez, who will have been at the helm for eight years when he retires, has hived off animal health, vaccines and over-the-counter drugs businesses at Novartis to focus on generally more profitable prescription medicines, particularly in cancer.
	5.2.1 Pharma - Partenariats
Tox prompts Janssen to drop MacroGenics' cancer antibody [FierceBiotech] The demise of duvortuxizumab (MGD011) has come about because of safety concerns, and specifically treatment-related neurotoxicity.
	5.3.4 Traitements - AMM (FDA, EMA)
Pfizer Receives FDA Approval for MYLOTARG™ (gemtuzumab ozogamicin) [Pfizer] Reintroduction of MYLOTARG supported by continued research by the AML community demonstrating favorable risk:benefit profile.
FDA Approves Pfizer’s Mylotarg 7 Years After it was Pulled From the Market [RAPS] In 2010, Pfizer voluntarily withdrew the treatment, 10 years after it won accelerated approval, when a confirmatory Phase III trial did not show a clinical benefit and the rate of fatalities as a result of treatment-related toxicity was significantly higher in the Mylotarg arm, the company said.
FDA approves Mylotarg for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia [FDA] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Mylotarg (gemtuzumab ozogamicin) for the treatment of adults with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia whose tumors express the CD33 antigen (CD33-positive AML). The FDA also approved Mylotarg for the treatment of patients aged 2 years and older with CD33-positive AML who have experienced a relapse or who have not responded to initial treatment (refractory).
	5.4 Traitements - Economie
NICE says benefits of breast cancer drug fulvestrant too uncertain to make it cost effective [NICE] The independent appraisal committee agreed that fulvestrant stalls the cancer’s growth by around 3 months compared to aromatase inhibitors, the drugs currently used to treat this type and stage of cancer. However, they found that the available evidence did not show that this leads to an increase in overall life expectancy.
	5.6 ESMO
ESMO 2017 Press Release: Study Highlights Overuse of Tumour Marker Tests in Primary and Secondary Care [ESMO] The vast majority of tumour marker tests in primary and secondary care are not necessary, according to a study that will be presented at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid. The tests assisted with a cancer diagnosis in just 2% of patients.
	5.6.14 ESMO - Ovaire
ESMO 2017 Press Release: ICON8 Trial Reaffirms Standard Dosing in Ovarian Cancer Chemo [ESMO] “The results clearly demonstrate that, although well-tolerated, using weekly scheduling to achieve dose-intensification of paclitaxel as part of the first-line treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer does not extend progression-free survival in this population.”
	5.6.2 ESMO - Divers
ESMO 2017 Press Release: MIRO Trial: 3-year Outcomes Favour Laparoscopic Surgery for Oesophageal Cancer [ESMO] Mature results of the phase 3 study, with follow-up to a median of 48.8 months, demonstrate that the reduced surgical trauma associated with a laparoscopic approach, does not cut corners on safety, said investigator Dr. Guillaume Piessen, from University Hospital C. Huriez, Lille, France.
	5.6.6 ESMO - Sein
ESMO 2017 Press Release: Study in Early Stage Breast Cancer Shows That Even Small Tumours Can Be Aggressive [ESMO] “Our results challenge the assumption that all small tumours are less serious and do not need adjuvant chemotherapy,” said lead author Dr Konstantinos Tryfonidis, a researcher at the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), Brussels, Belgium.
	6. Lutte contre les cancers
Last Month in Oncology with Dr Bishal Gyawali: August 2017 [ecancernews] Drug-based cancer prevention has usually been met with failure, more so in lung cancer. Thus, the suggestion that canakinumab - an inhibitor of IL-1B might prevent lung cancer was provocative and garnered lots of news. However, on delving deep into the study, I am not as optimistic.
	6.1 Observation
More older men get prostate radiation when doctors own the equipment [Reuters] When doctors had an ownership stake in IMRT, 42 percent of men with a high chance of dying from something other than cancer received this treatment, compared to 26 percent of men when physicians didn’t own IMRT machines.