Onco Actu du 2 octobre 2017

	1. Biologie
The Oncogene FOXQ1 Promotes Some Tumor Types but Suppresses Another [Roswell Park] “The most surprising finding from this work is that FOXQ1 suppresses exactly the same gene and processes in melanoma cells that it induces in carcinomas.”
	3. Prévention
Testing a New Option in Ovarian Cancer Prevention [Dana-Farber Cancer Institute] The strategy is based on research suggesting that the most dangerous form of ovarian cancer actually develops not in the ovaries, but within the fallopian tubes – the narrow structures that funnel eggs from the ovaries to the uterus.
	3.1 Prévention - Tabac
WHO tells governments to reject Philip Morris-funded smoking foundation [Reuters] The U.N. health body said there was a conflict of interest in a tobacco firm funding such research - drawing a sharp rebuke from the Foundation’s head who said his work was independent.
	4.10 Dép., diag. & prono. - FDA, EMA, NICE,...
FDA’s Gottlieb Preparing To Lower The Bar To Approval [CardioBrief] A key part of his strategy is to shift the regulatory burden from preapproval to postapproval, from randomized controlled trials to real world evidence.
	4.12 Biopsies liquides
Predicting lung cancer recurrence by analyzing circulating tumor DNA [Stanford Medicine] Strikingly, we observed that all patients in whom we could detect circulating tumor DNA after treatment developed recurrence, while the vast majority of patients who were circulating tumor DNA negative remained disease free.
	4.9 Dép., diag. & prono. - Sein
Women with disabilities may be missing out on cancer screening [Cancer Research UK] Women with disabilities that affected eyesight, mobility and the ability to take care of themselves were the least likely to take part in cancer screening. Women who reported any disability and also did not have access to a car were more likely to miss breast screenings.
	5. Traitements
Q&A with Anil K. Sood, MD, on Ovarian Cancer Research and Treatment [Cancer Research Catalyst] The past few years have seen us begin to translate our growing understanding of the biology of ovarian cancer into effective approaches to treatment. However, ovarian cancer remains a deadly disease for many women and it is clear that we have much left to learn.
	5.1 Traitements - Pré-clinique
Biologists identify possible new strategy for halting brain tumors [MIT News] Further experiments in which the researchers analyzed other genes affected when PRMT5 was inhibited led them to hypothesize that PRMT5 was using a special type of gene splicing to stimulate tumor growth.
	5.12 Immunothérapies
Can T cells be unleashed to attack skin tumors? [UNC] UNC Lineberger researchers are planning to launch an investigator-initiated clinical trial year to assess whether the combination denosumab with the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab is more effective than pembrolizumab alone for treating patients with advanced melanoma.
	5.12.6 Immunothérapies - AMM
FDA Approvals for Liver and Stomach Cancer Extend the Reach of Immunotherapy [Cancer Research Catalyst] These two decisions mean that there is now at least one checkpoint inhibitor approved for treating 10 types of cancer.
	5.12.8 Immunothérapies - Economie
The $913M bonanza: Arie Belldegrun and his top team at Kite show you how to make a really rich deal [EndPoints] Few can ignore the lesson that winning big in biotech can be worth a mother lode of cash — which is one reason why billions of dollars flow into drug development.
	5.2 Pharma
Eli Lilly R&D chief Jan Lundberg heads for the exit as CEO assembles a new team at the top [EndPoints] Lundberg has been a central figure at Lilly over the last 8 years, a crucial period that saw out the end of John Lechleiter’s career at the top and the beginning of a stream of new drug approvals that are central to its longterm success.
FDA grants Priority Review for Roche’s Perjeta (pertuzumab) for adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer [Roche] The sBLA is based on results of the phase III APHINITY study.
Roche's Perjeta regimen gets FDA priority review in breast cancer [Reuters] A clinical trial for the combination therapy resulted in a modest benefit for patients, but Roche has expressed confidence that Perjeta will drive sales as it tries to offset the hit from cut-price competition to top-selling biological cancer medicines.
	5.2.2 Pharma - Fusions & Acquisitions
Why would Novartis buy a $2.6B radiotherapy maker? Its neuroendocrine franchise, analyst says [FiercePharma] The target’s real attraction might be its pipeline. Its lead candidate is an actual cancer therapeutic in a field Novartis already knows: neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).
Novartis Is Said to Eye Deal for Radioactive-Drug Maker AAA [Bloomberg] AAA makes radiopharmaceuticals, or radioactive drugs, used to diagnose and treat diseases such as cancer. Italian academics founded the company in 2002 as a spinoff of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN. AAA is based in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, a French town just outside Geneva.
	5.2.3 Pharma - économie
Cancer, gene therapy biotechs raise $303M in IPO bonanza [FierceBiotech] Kinase inhibitor biotech Deciphera Pharmaceuticals raised $128 million, at the high-end of the range, with British cancer oncology NuCana, which is working on second-generation chemotherapies for resistant tumors, raising $100 million, and within the range.
Deciphera IPO Drums Up $128M for Cancer Drug Studies [Xconomy] Deciphera develops drugs that block kinases, enzymes that play a key role in the growth and spread of cancers. Its lead drug, called DCC-2618, blocks a full range of kinases that drive gastrointestinal stromal tumors, or GIST. The compound is in a Phase 1 clinical trial.
	5.3 Traitements - FDA, EMA, NICE...
FDA improves access to reports of adverse drug reactions [FDA] New online tool makes it easier for users to search the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System.
	5.3.4 Traitements - AMM (FDA, EMA)
FDA approves Lilly pill for common advanced breast cancer [STAT] It will compete with two drugs in the same class, Pfizer Inc.’s blockbuster Ibrance and Novartis AG’s recently approved Kisqali. Both cost about the same amount but can’t be given as stand-alone treatments to those patients.
Lilly receives FDA breast cancer pill approval, doubts remain [Pharmafile] The drug will be the third to market in the CDK 4/6 inhibitor space but, with little differentiating treatments in efficacy, analysts remain unconvinced that Lilly can make a big impact in the space.
Lilly steps up to rival Pfizer, Novartis with Verzenio breast cancer approval [FiercePharma] Verzenio’s pricing puts the Lilly med just a hair below Kisqali’s price for a 600-mg dose; Verzenio will bear a sticker of about $10,948 per month, a company spokeswoman said, while a 28-day supply of Kisqali costs $10,950.
FDA approves new treatment for certain advanced or metastatic breast cancers [FDA] Verzenio (abemaciclib) works by blocking certain molecules (known as cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6), involved in promoting the growth of cancer cells. There are two other drugs in this class that are approved for certain patients with breast cancer, palbociclib approved in February 2015 and ribociclib approved in March 2017.
Gemtuzumab Receives New FDA Approval for Acute Myeloid Leukemia [NCI] “Now that gemtuzumab is reapproved, I think we have to learn how best to use it, because the data suggest that it doesn’t benefit everybody,” said Dr. Walter.
Eli Lilly wins U.S. approval for breast cancer drug [Reuters] The drug, abemaciclib, which will be sold under the brand name Verzenio, will carry a list price before any discounts or rebates of about $10,948 per month, Lilly said.
	5.4 Traitements - Economie
Ibrutinib for treating relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma [NICE] Ibrutinib is not recommended, within its marketing authorisation, for treating relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma in adults.
NICE knocks-back Janssen's Imbruvica in mantle cell lymphoma [PharmaTimes] The Institute said the drug’s use for this indication would not be a cost-effective use of NHS resources, despite Janssen having agreed to discount its price through a patient access scheme.
Cheap drug could cut 10% of UK breast cancer deaths, charity says [The Guardian] Bisphosphonates, which cost around 43p a day, are used to strengthen the bones of women diagnosed with osteoporosis. But a review in 2015 showed that they can also reduce the number of breast cancers in postmenopausal women that spread within 10 years after treatment and recur in the bones, where they become incurable, from 8.8% to 6.6%.
	5.9.5 IASLC
Loxo Oncology Announces Details of LOXO-292 Abstract to be Presented as Late-Breaking Presentation at the IASLC 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer [Loxo] The abstract describes the first two patients with RET-fusion lung cancer with and without brain metastases treated with LOXO-292.
Ignyta Announces Updated Data on Entrectinib in ROS1 NSCLC to Be Presented at the IASLC 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer [Ignyta] In total, Ignyta has treated more than 70 ROS1 fusion-positive NSCLC patients with entrectinib across our Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials, making it one of the largest clinical datasets evaluating efficacy in this patient population.
	6.10 Politiques
Brexit will have large impact on health and NHS, say researchers [Cancer Research UK] Around 60,000 people from EU countries work in the NHS and 90,000 in adult social care, meaning staffing of the NHS and social care is a major issue.
French government proposes big science-spending boost [Nature] President Emmanuel Macron’s 2018 draft budget would raise research funds by 6%.
	6.10.1 Politiques (USA)
Massachussets Could Shake Up Drug Pricing [Bloomberg] But only if the Trump administration lets it refuse to cover some medicines.
	6.11 Patients
Julia Louis-Dreyfus shares breast cancer diagnosis [The Guardian] The star of Seinfeld and Veep tweeted a note to praise her ‘glorious’ support network and ‘fantastic insurance’ but added that not many women were so lucky.
	6.13 Soins palliatifs
Many kids dying of cancer get intense care at end of life [Reuters] “The rates of medically intense end-of-life care we found in our study and the disparities we found raise the question: Are we providing a palliative approach to end-of-life care for these patients?”
	6.5 Médecines alternatives
Rigvir strikes back, or: A conversation with a Rigvir flack [Science-Based Medicine] My skeptical analysis of Rigvir, a “Virotherapy” from Latvia being promoted by alternative medicine clinics as a cancer cure, caught the attention of the International Virotherapy Center (IVC). The result was a long and very telling e-mail exchange between its Assistant of Business Development and myself. I post it because the arguments used in the discussion are very telling about where the IVC is coming from when it comes to science. Hint: It’s not a good place.
	6.6 Publications
Are preprints the future of biology? A survival guide for scientists [Science] Like it or not, however, the rough and tumble new world of biology preprints has arrived. For those debating whether to take the plunge, Science offers this guide.
“No wrongdoing had occurred,” says Karolinska, following investigation of cancer research [Retraction Watch] This isn’t the first time KI had to reopen a misconduct investigation after initially clearing a researcher. But a previous instance had a decidedly different outcome.