Onco Actu du 17 janvier 2018

	1. Biologie
High-Fat Diet May Fuel Spread of Prostate Cancer [NY Times] When prostate cancers lose a particular gene, they become tiny fat factories, a team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston reported in a paper published in Nature Genetics. Then the cancers spread from the prostate, often with deadly effect. Prostate cancers that have not lost that gene also can spread, or metastasize — in mice, at least — but only if they have a ready source of fat from the diet.
	2.10 Etiologie - Alcool
Healthcare Triage: Alcohol and Cancer and How We Think About Risk [The Incidental Economist] Recently, there have been big, splashy headlines about how drinking ANY alcohol increases your risk of cancer. As usual, there’s more to the story than the scary headline.
	4. Dépistage, diagnostic et pronostic
Inside the global race to deliver radioactive tracers to detect cancer [STAT] Some European governments have begun charging moly-99 producers higher rates to rent reactor time, and prices are expected to rise sharply when governments strip for-profit companies of subsidies originally meant to support academic research.
	4.1 Dép., diag. & prono. - Prostate
Blood test which confirms prostate cancer could prevent 70pc of biopsies [The Telegraph] The new test, which has so far been trialled using samples from 72 men, would be used following a PSA test to help doctors decide whether a high PSA reading really does mean cancer.
	4.12 Biopsies liquides
Liquid Biopsy Test Shows Promise for Detecting Early-Stage Colorectal Cancer [ASCO] The authors are currently planning to validate the use of CTC testing in the general population in Taiwan and to conduct studies in the U.S. According to the authors, the technology used in this study potentially could be used with other solid tumors, such as breast, lung, and prostate cancer.
	4.9 Dép., diag. & prono. - Sein
When You Need A Breast Screening, Should You Get A 3-D Mammogram? [KHN] Overdiagnosis is one of the potential downsides of this technology, said Dr. David Grossman, chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The more sensitive test picks up more breast lesions for which the clinical significance is unclear, potentially resulting in women receiving more testing and treatment they don’t need. Some research suggests the biopsy rate is slightly higher with 3-D mammograms.
	5. Traitements
Does the oncology community have a rejection bias when it comes to repurposed drugs? [ecancermedicalscience] In this commentary, we present three examples of lower-priced drugs rejected or ignored by the oncology community and contrast this with three expensive drugs where persistent optimism remained despite negative clinical trial results.
The Landscape of Kinase Inhibitors [In the Pipeline] So anyone who’s at all interested in the kinase inhibitor world needs to look over this paper. And anyone who might want a reminder of (on one side) just how messy and complex things are, or (on the other side) how many interesting opportunities remain out there, should have a look, too. This is state-of-the-art stuff.
	5.12 Immunothérapies
Who Might Benefit from Immunotherapy? Study Suggests Possible Marker [University of Michigan] PD-L1 in cells within the tumor microenvironment and lymph nodes may matter more than PD-L1 in tumors, researchers report in a new study.
	5.12.10 Immunothérapies - Fusions et acquisitions
Juno jumps afterhours as reports suggest Celgene wants a buyout [FierceBiotech] It sees the deal worth as much as $7 billion to $9.5 billion; lower than Kite’s $11.9 billion buyout from Gilead, but then Celgene already has certain rights and partial ownership tied up with Juno.
Juno shares rocket higher on word that Celgene is hunting a buyout deal [EndPoints] Celgene will clearly be focused on gaining the same cachet that Gilead found when it acquired Kite just ahead of its first landmark approval. But this one will take more time.
Celgene in Talks to Buy Juno Therapeutics [Wall Street Journal] Seattle-based Juno would further boost Celgene in the market for drugs treating multiple myeloma and other blood cancers, a market that the company helped establish.
	5.12.2 Immunothérapies - CAR-T
Researchers Develop a Remote-Controlled Cancer Immunotherapy System [UC San Diego] The team developed an innovative approach to use mechanogenetics—a field of science that focuses on how physical forces and changes in the mechanical properties of cells and tissues influence gene expression—for the remote control of gene and cell activations.
Novartis granted US FDA Priority Review for Kymriah(TM) (tisagenlecleucel), formerly CTL019, for adults with r/r DLBCL [Novartis] Novartis is working closely with the FDA and EMA to make Kymriah available to more patients with critical unmet need.
Novartis's Kymriah wins speedy reviews in U.S., Europe [Reuters] Novartis expects Kymriah will eventually top $1 billion in annual sales as it expands the patient pool eligible for the therapy, which for young patients with ALL costs $475,000 per treatment.
	5.12.4 Immunothérapies - Essais
Merck Is Latest to Tout Success as Lung Cancer Drug Combos Plow Forward [Xconomy] Merck hasn’t, however, disclosed the magnitude of the benefit produced by the combination. This information, to be shared at an unspecified future medial meeting, is critical to help understand the benefits and risks of taking the combination. As promising as new immunotherapies like pembrolizumab have been, the side effects in combination with other agents have been disconcerting, as Xconomy reported in 2017.
Merck Extends Its Lung Cancer Lead [Bloomberg] Keytruda is expected to account for nearly a quarter of Merck's 2022 sales as the company faces sales declines from several older products.
Positive Keytruda lung cancer data sends Merck shares up 6 percent [Reuters] Shares of Merck fell around 10 percent last year after the company said in October that it would make survival a main goal of the lung cancer trial and extended the study by up to a year. Tuesday’s gains bring its shares back in line with where they were trading before the delay.
Merck’s Keytruda combo wows again, acing PhIII overall survival goal for lung cancer early [EndPoints] Their willingness to include OS to the study — which added Keytruda to Eli Lilly’s Alimta — underscored Merck’s confidence in their big cancer drug, which has been making steady advances since Bristol-Myers Squibb stumbled badly last year with a clinical setback that it has yet to recover from.
Merck's KEYTRUDA(R) (pembrolizumab) Significantly Improved Overall Survival and Progression-Free Survival as First-Line Treatment in Combination with Pemetrexed and Platinum Chemotherapy for Patients with Metastatic Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (KEYNOTE-189) [Merck] Results from KEYNOTE-189 will be presented at an upcoming medical meeting and submitted to regulatory authorities.
	5.12.8 Immunothérapies - Economie
German watchdog calls for direct comparison of cancer immunotherapies [Reuters] IQWiG, the independent authority in Germany that evaluates new drugs and plays a key role in what price health services pay for them, has looked into new immunotherapy drugs for the treatment of bladder cancer as part of its so-called early benefit assessment.
	5.2.1 Pharma - Partenariats
Merck KGaA taps CRUK, ICR for source of cancer candidates [FierceBiotech] The agreements give Merck access to innovation from beyond its walls by connecting it to the work of cancer researchers at sites across the U.K.
Cancer Research UK and the Institute of Cancer Research, London, join forces with Merck in new drug discovery alliance [Cancer Research UK] The parties will collaborate on three independent research projects spanning target hit discovery to preclinical candidate nomination.
	5.2.3 Pharma - économie
Roche CEO Schwan concedes challenges as ‘highly, highly profitable’ drugs fall to biosimilar rivals [FiercePharma] The only assurance Schwan was willing to offer is that Roche will increase its dividend this year, as promised to investors. Beyond this year, however, dividend decisions “will all depend on how the business develops.”
German drugmaker files $21.6M IPO for skin cancer drug [EndPoints] The company is the maker of Ameluz (aminolaevulinic acid), approved by the FDA in combination with a medical device for the skin cancer precursor actinic keratosis. Now, Biofrontera aims to expand its label so it can be used in superficial basal cell carcinoma, a form of squamous cell carcinoma called Bowen’s disease, and larger treatment areas of actinic keratosis.
	5.3 Traitements - FDA, EMA, NICE...
Transparency: FDA to Release Portions of Redacted Clinical Study Reports [RAPS] In addition to the pilot, Gottlieb announced the agency is adding the ClinicalTrials.gov identifier number, called the NCT number, to FDA materials to better track drugs that make their way from trials through advisory committees through approval.
FDA to release more clinical trial information for newly approved drugs [Washington Post] Peter Lurie, a former FDA official and current president of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, said Gottlieb's position is a tentative but encouraging step. While a top FDA official, Lurie led a 2015 study that showed pharmaceutical companies don't disclose the vast majority of information in the letters.
FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb just broke a public promise on publishing CRLs — and yes, it matters [EndPoints] If the company screwed up their data, can’t prove efficacy or raise unanswered safety issues, regardless of whatever class of drugs — on or off the market — this could relate to, the public has a right to know. So do the researchers at the NIH, in academia and companies working in drug development. It has a right to what Gottlieb promised to win Senate support.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on new steps FDA is taking to enhance transparency of clinical trial information to support innovation and scientific inquiry related to new drugs [FDA] One place where we are evaluating how we can release information that may better inform scientists, providers, and patients is clinical study reports (CSRs).
	5.5 ASCO
Exelixis and Ipsen Announce Phase 3 Trial Results of Cabozantinib Demonstrating Significant Overall Survival Benefit in Patients with Previously Treated Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma [Exelixis] Exelixis to submit supplemental New Drug Application to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first quarter of 2018.
Heads Up: 2018 ASCO GI Cancers Symposium [OBR] Presentations will include important studies on topics such as new way to detect colorectal cancer early, novel surgical approaches for GI cancers, the role of immunotherapy, and long-term evaluation of outcomes of patients receiving standard therapy for colorectal cancer.
Array BioPharma to Present Updated Phase 3 BEACON CRC Safety Lead-In Results of the Combination of Encorafenib, Binimetinib and Cetuximab in BRAF-Mutant Colorectal Cancer at the 2018 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium [Array] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing the New Drug Applications (NDAs) to support use of the combination of encorafenib and binimetinib for the treatment of patients with BRAF-mutant advanced, unresectable or metastatic melanoma.
	6. Lutte contre les cancers
Why has no other European country adopted the Research Excellence Framework? [LSE Impact Blog] Gunnar Sivertsen has examined systems throughout Europe and finds the REF to be quite unique as a combination of performance-based institutional funding and research evaluation. While most countries do both, they do so in independent setups and with different, less expensive methodologies.
	6.6 Publications
Make replication studies ‘a normal and essential part of science,’ Dutch science academy says [Science] Journals should require authors to register reports in advance so that the study protocol and analysis plan is locked in place before data collection even begins, and scientists should be encouraged to store methods and data in repositories to help other groups reproduce experiments.
Science search engine links papers to grants and patents [Nature] By offering some data free of charge, Dimensions may be seeking to undercut use of Web of Science and Scopus, he says.