Onco Actu du 1er décembre 2017

	1. Biologie
Invasive cells in head and neck tumors predict cancer spread [Mass. General Hospital] Cutting edge technology applied to head and neck tumors reveals a unique transition that is linked to cancer metastasis.
Communication between lung tumors and bones contributes to tumor progression [Mass. General Hospital] Mass. General study identifying interaction among tumor cells, bone marrow and immune cells opens new avenue for immunotherapy.
Mapping Terra Incognita [Harvard Medical School] Researchers have compiled the first atlas of invasive head and neck tumor cells.
Semi-Synthetic Life Form Now Fully Armed and Operational [MIT Technology Review] Carr says an expanded genetic code could have implications beyond providing a shortcut for programming new properties into proteins. He also thinks the new letters might be used to hide information in ways other biologists couldn’t easily see. That could be useful in concealing intellectual property or, perhaps, to disguise a bioweapon.
	2.5 Etiologie - Gènes
Genetic link found between the immune system and lymphoma [Institute of Cancer Research] Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, identified six new genetic changes that increase the risk of developing Hodgkin lymphoma – one of the most common cancers in young adults.
	4. Dépistage, diagnostic et pronostic
Cancer x-ray services to be reviewed after serious diagnostic failures [The Guardian] Inspectors have launched a national review into radiology services in the NHS after it emerged patients came to “significant harm” at a hospital where junior doctors were left to interpret chest x-rays, including those for suspected cancer.
	4.10 Dép., diag. & prono. - FDA, EMA, NICE,...
Foundation's cancer gene test gets U.S. FDA and Medicare nod [Reuters] Cancer experts are in disagreement as to whether testing tumors for mutations driving the cancer and picking drugs that target these mutations ultimately benefits patients. FDA officials said the approval can help patients avoid the need for multiple biopsies for successive, single-gene tests.
FDA announces approval, CMS proposes coverage of first breakthrough-designated test to detect extensive number of cancer biomarkers [FDA] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the FoundationOne CDx (F1CDx), the first breakthrough-designated, next generation sequencing (NGS)-based in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test that can detect genetic mutations in 324 genes and two genomic signatures in any solid tumor type.
	4.5 Dép., diag. & prono. - Colorectal
Study Suggests Measurable Impact of Colorectal Cancer Screening Program [ACS] Centers Receiving American Cancer Society CHANGE Grants Show Greater Increase in Screening.
	4.7 Dép., diag. & prono. - Col de l'utérus
Australia's new cervical cancer test 'much more sensitive' – Cancer Council [The Guardian] Canfell says after the introduction of the new screening program, many countries are now looking to Australia to follow its lead.
	5. Traitements
Tackling ‘undruggable’ genes in lung and pancreatic cancers is this researcher’s life [Cancer Research UK] It’s a relatively simple idea to explain: develop drugs that switch off Ras and Myc and you’ll kill most cancer cells. But decades of research have taught us that this is far more difficult in practice.
	5.10 Traitements - Essais
Phase III trial of radium-223 dichloride in combination with abiraterone acetate and prednisone/prednisolone for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer unblinded early [Bayer] Decision follows a recommendation from an Independent Data Monitoring Committee.
	5.12 Immunothérapies
CRISPR Enables Cancer Immunotherapy Drug Discovery [Dana-Farber Cancer Institute] “Our work suggests that there’s a wide array of biological pathways that could be targeted to make immunotherapy more successful,” Haining continues. “Many of these are surprising pathways that we couldn’t have predicted."
Cancer drug offers tantalising hope for HIV cure [The Guardian] Patient given nivolumab, a new generation cancer drug, shown to have a reduced reservoir of dormant HIV cells and a boosted immune response.
Cancer drug prompts 'drastic' HIV decrease in lung cancer patient [Reuters] “We must remain careful, especially because this is only one case,” said Jean-Philippe Spano, a professor and head of the medical oncology department at the Paris hospital. “This is the first case of such a drastic decrease of the HIV reservoir (but) we have...another case where there was no decrease.”
	5.12.3 Immunothérapies-combinaisons
Immune-boosting antibody combination could improve lymphoma survival [Cancer Research UK] They found one combination – anti-CD27 and anti-CD20 – greatly increased life expectancy in mice with cancer. While most of the mice given just one of the antibodies died within 80 days, nearly all mice given both antibodies survived beyond 100 days.
	5.12.4 Immunothérapies - Essais
CheckMate -078, a Pivotal, Multinational Phase 3 Opdivo (nivolumab) Lung Cancer Trial with Predominantly Chinese Patients, Stopped Early for Demonstrating Superior Overall Survival [BMS] In China, where lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, these results are especially important, as they represent the first Phase 3 trial to show an overall survival benefit with a PD-1 inhibitor in the Chinese patient population.
	5.2.2 Pharma - Fusions & Acquisitions
After all the love and money, analysts speculate that J&J may swoop in with a buyout offer for Genmab [EndPoints] Neither Stoffels or Van de Winkel, meanwhile, are talking up a buyout at this stage — content to stay focused on their work as partners. Both are public companies and the execs are skilled at not crossing any disclosure lines.
	5.2.3 Pharma - économie
Judge upholds $110M J&J talc verdict, despite SCOTUS jurisdiction ruling [FiercePharma] According to J&J's recent quarterly filing with the SEC, the drugmaker now faces about 5,500 cases claiming talc caused harm.
	5.3 Traitements - FDA, EMA, NICE...
Remarks from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., as prepared for oral testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Hearing, “Implementing the 21st Century Cures Act: An Update from FDA and NIH" [FDA] One reason we’d want to consider accelerated approval in these settings is that it would include authority to require confirmatory evidence to support the continued marketing of the drug and an expedited withdrawal mechanism if that evidence fails to confirm the benefit.
Cures Act implementation: Gottlieb says faster cancer drug approvals coming for secondary indications [EndPoints] In the question and answer portion of the hearing, Gottlieb noted another new guidance to be released “very soon” on targeted therapies, outlining how to win approval for drugs targeted at biomarkers, “such as a cancer that might appear in multiple organs.”
FDA aims to approve more drugs based on early clinical data [Reuters] Currently, a company with a lung cancer drug would have to conduct randomized clinical trials comparing the drug to a placebo or comparator drug. The new proposal would allow approval in a second cancer based on a single arm study in which all patients receive the experimental treatment.
Time from US Food and Drug Administration approval to publication of data for cancer drugs: a comparison of first and subsequent approvals [Blood Cancer Journal] Twenty-seven (36.0%) approvals did not have efficacy data published in the peer review literature within 30 days of approval. Only two of these approvals posted results on Clinicaltrials.gov in this time, and none of these approvals had the FDA publish efficacy data within this time.
	5.3.4 Traitements - AMM (FDA, EMA)
Dasatinib Approved by FDA for Some Children with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia [NCI] FDA based its approval of dasatinib on results from two early-phase clinical trials—a phase 1 study and a phase 2 study—that included a total of 97 children with CML. The studies were funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb.
	5.4 Traitements - Economie
Making Medicines Affordable: A National Imperative (2017) [National Academies Press] This report explores structural and policy factors influencing drug pricing, drug access programs, the emerging role of comparative effectiveness assessments in payment policies, changing finances of medical practice with regard to drug costs and reimbursement, and measures to prevent drug shortages and foster continued innovation in drug development.
ASCO Applauds New Report on Making Medicines Affordable [ASCO] Nowhere is this imperative more urgent than with the new generation of cancer drugs that is giving hope to the millions of Americans who face a cancer diagnosis each year—while creating formidable barriers to access due to the high cost of these agents.
Exclusive: U.S. health regulator Verma eyes new methods for drug pricing [Reuters] Verma said one model under consideration was paying different prices for a single drug based on its success treating a particular condition, such as paying more for a therapy that works better for breast cancer than it does for lung cancer or liver cancer.
	6. Lutte contre les cancers
More than One-Third of Physician Assistants in Oncology Experience Burnout, Despite High Rate of Career Satisfaction, New Study Finds [ASCO] Findings Provide Insights for Potential Areas of Improvement in Team-Based Care.
	6.3 Associations/Fondations
Major charity under fire for pharma ties and may close up shop [FiercePharma] Over the last year, a growing number of drugmakers have acknowledged they're under investigation for charity contributions. The probe has grown to include Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Biogen, Gilead, Astellas and numerous other companies.
	6.9 Controverses
Statistics controversy: missing the p-oint [The Mermaid's Tale] Thinking of life in parametric terms is a convenience, but is an approximation of unknown and often unknowable inaccuracy. Evolution occurs over countless millennia, in which the non-parametric aspects can be dominating.