Onco Actu du 16 avril 2018

	1. Biologie
Why some cancers are 'born to be bad' [BBC News] The studies also revealed that the earliest mutations that lead to kidney cancer were happening up to half a century before the cancer was detected. Sir Harpal Kumar, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said the study was "groundbreaking".
Deadly tumours are often born of childhood mutations [Nature] Early chromosomal disruption can set the stage for kidney cancer decades later.
	3. Prévention
Seven ways ... to prevent bowel cancer [The Guardian] Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the developed world – but mortality has decreased by 30% in the past 20 years.
	3.3 Prévention - Vaccins
Merck's supply of HPV shot Gardasil 9 is running short in the U.K. [FiercePharma] The shortage is caused by an increase in demand "in the U.K. and elsewhere, which has led to depletion in the market sooner than anticipated," Merck's representative said. The company expects the shortage to continue through July.
	4. Dépistage, diagnostic et pronostic
2018 France Hospital Cancer Diagnostics Market: Supplier Shares, Competitive Landscape, Innovative Technologies, Instrumentation Review [ReportsnReports] This new report from VPGMarketResearch.com contains 533 pages, 43 tables, and presents a comprehensive analysis of the French hospital cancer diagnostics market.
Unclear if cancer test funding is being used as intended [Cancer Research UK] NHS funding designed to improve cancer early diagnosis might not be reaching the right services, according to a new report. The report highlights how variable the use of diagnostic testing is in different parts of England, and suggests funding might have been spent elsewhere in the NHS.
	4.2 Dép., diag. & prono. - Génome
Researcher Presents Promising Early Results on Color Cascade Testing Uptake at ACMG Meeting [Genome Web] Through the Family Testing Program initiative — funded by the BRCA Foundation with matching funds from Color — Color offers FDRs of known hereditary cancer risk carriers a panel sequencing test that profiles for coding sequences and large rearrangements in 30 cancer-associated genes (including BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2, MLH1, MSH2) for just $50.
Estonia Offers Free Genetic Testing to Residents [The Scientist] The nationwide experiment will initially include around 100,000 volunteers.
Employees Jump at Genetic Testing. Is That a Good Thing? [NY Times] The company has reduced genetic testing costs by using robotics and machine learning and eliminating tasks like in-person prescreening by doctors. It charges $249 for hereditary risk screening for eight of the most common cancers and began offering that price while more established medical diagnostics firms were charging $4,000 for similar tests.
	4.9 Dép., diag. & prono. - Sein
Don’t Tell Me My DCIS Isn’t Cancer! [DNA Science Blog] “DCIS isn’t really cancer. You have nothing to worry about,” said my oncologist confidently. “Then why am I having a mastectomy in four days?” I blurted.
	5.12.1 Immunothérapies - partenariats
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Illumina Announce Strategic Collaboration to Develop and Commercialize Companion Diagnostics for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Oncology Immunotherapies [BMS] A Diagnostic Version of the Illumina TruSight™ Oncology 500 Assay Will Measure Potentially Predictive Genomic Biomarkers, Including Tumor Mutation Burden.
Bristol Partners With Illumina On Diagnostic Test To Use With Opdivo [Forbes] Bristol noted that it is also advancing its partnership to develop companion diagnostics with Foundation, and that it has previous deals with other diagnostics firms, including Nordic Biosciences, GeneCentric and Qiagen.
	5.12.3 Immunothérapies-combinaisons
Focused Radiation May Help Turn on the Immune System [The Sentinel] There are many available routes of immunity to regulate, including checkpoints, cytokines, antibodies, and cells. It’s probably not until we get multi-drug combinations, added to radiation, that the distant abscopal effect becomes a regular thing.
	5.12.7 Immunothérapies - vaccins
Penn team spotlights a pilot ovarian cancer trial and survival rates for a personalized cancer vaccine [EndPoints] Biotech after biotech has bitten the dust in pursuit of cancer vaccines using shared antigens, from Bavarian Nordic and Aduro to Sellas and Argos, which flopped badly despite deploying a personalized approach. Yet that hasn’t stopped developers from trying.
	5.2 Pharma
Hanmi calls time on troubled Tagrisso rival olmutinib [FierceBiotech] The South Korean drugmaker took the decision after struggling to recruit patients into clinical trials and concluding that the third-generation EGFR inhibitor was too far behind Tagrisso (osimertinib), AstraZeneca’s fast-growing rival, to make a commercial success of the drug, according to a Korea Biomedical Review report.
	5.6.4 ESMO - Poumon
1st-line Tagrisso demonstrates sustained benefit post progression in patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer [AstraZeneca] Unprecedented progression-free survival benefit for 1st-line Tagrisso demonstrated in the FLAURA trial is preserved through subsequent lines of therapy.
ELCC 2018 News: New Data Support First-Line Osimertinib in Patients with NSCLC and Sensitising EGFR Mutation [ESMO] Osimertinib provides better post-progression benefit over SoC EGFR-TKI in the first-line setting for patients with EGFR mutation positive NSCLC providing confidence in the encouraging interim OS data from FLAURA.
ELCC 2018 News: Low Baseline Endoglin Levels May Signal Improved Survival with Nintedanib in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma [ESMO] Analysis reveals biomarkers that potentially indicate improved PFS and/or OS with nintedanib.
	5.9 AACR
Two Global Cancer Leaders Announce Ambitious Strategic Alliance [AACR] The alliance will build trans-Atlantic collaborations by establishing training and exchange programs, catalyzing scientific innovation by convening international meetings and workshops, and uniting the community to influence global research policy, among other important topics.
	5.9.1 AACR - sein
Updated Overall Survival Data for LYNPARZA® (olaparib) in gBRCA-mutated HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer Presented at AACR [Merck] While the trial was not powered to demonstrate a statistically significant difference, the median OS was 19.3 months in patients treated with LYNPARZA and 17.1 months for patients treated with chemotherapy (HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.66-1.23; p=0.513).
	5.9.11 AACR - SNC
NewLink Genetics Announces Initial Phase 1 Data with Indoximod Plus Radiation and Chemotherapy for Pediatric Patients with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) Presented During AACR Plenary [NewLink Genetics] Early data indicate indoximod has clinical activity when used in combination therapies beyond PD-1 inhibition.
	5.9.3 AACR - mélanome
Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Reduced the Risk of Disease Recurrence or Death by More than 40 Percent Compared to Placebo as Adjuvant Therapy in Resected, High-Risk Stage III Melanoma [Merck] KEYTRUDA is First Anti-PD-1 Therapy to Show Recurrence-Free Survival (RFS) Benefit Across Stage IIIA (> 1 mm Lymph Node Metastasis), IIIB and IIIC Melanoma.
Pembrolizumab Reduced the Risk for Recurrence of Stage 3 Melanoma [AACR] Eggermont and colleagues enrolled 1,019 patients with stage 3 melanoma who were at high risk of recurrence after complete resection of their tumors in the KEYNOTE-054/EORTC 1325-MG phase III clinical trial.
#AACR18 round 1: Merck takes a direct swing at Bristol-Myers with adjuvant melanoma data for Keytruda [EndPoints] In KEYNOTE-054, Merck determined that 18 doses of Keytruda pushed post-surgery patients with stage 3 melanoma to a recurrence-free rate of 75.4% compared to 61% for a comparison group getting a placebo.
	5.9.4 AACR - poumon
Opdivo (nivolumab), First PD-1 Inhibitor to Demonstrate Superior Survival Benefit Compared with Chemotherapy in a Predominantly Chinese Population with Previously Treated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) [BMS] In the Phase 3 CheckMate -078 trial, Opdivo reduced the risk of death by 32% versus chemotherapy.
	5.9.6 AACR - prostate
Too Much of a Good Thing: Effect of Prostate Cancer Gene Can Go Either Way, Roswell Park Researchers Find [Roswell Park] Activity of Ezh2 gene is dose-dependent, scientists report at AACR Annual Meeting in Chicago.
	5.9.7 AACR - divers
Fred Hutch scientists to feature next-generation T-cell therapies, big data, precision medicine and more at AACR [Fred Hutch] Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s latest findings will be featured in about 50 presentations at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, “Driving Innovative Cancer Science to Patient Care.”
Children with Non-chromosomal Birth Defects Face Higher Risk of Several Childhood Cancers [AACR] In this study, the researchers pooled statewide registry data from Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, and Arkansas for the period 1992-2013, and linked information from birth certificates, birth defects registries, and cancer registries. They used Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate associations between 60 birth defects and 31 childhood cancers.
Crizotinib Yielded a High Objective Response Rate for Adult Patients With ALK-positive Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor [AACR] In the EORTC 90101 clinical trial, the objective response rate among the 12 evaluable patients with ALK-positive inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors who received crizotinib was 50 percent; two had a confirmed complete response and four had a confirmed partial response.
Birth Defects Linked to Increased Risk of Childhood Cancer [The Scientist] The researchers ultimately examined 60 birth defects and 31 childhood cancers, and identified 539,891 children with non-chromosomal defects, 14,773 kids with cancer, and 1,787 with both.
	5.9.8 AACR - Pharma
Selective Inhibitor Shows Early Promise in Patients With RET-altered Cancers [AACR] This ongoing phase I study has shown proof-of-concept of this selective RET inhibitor,” said Subbiah. “Although it’s very early in clinical testing, we observed promising antitumor activity in NSCLC and MTC.
Blueprint Medicines' Cancer Drug Impresses In Early Study [Forbes] He praised the medicine's efficacy, but also raised the problems of trying to get DNA sequencing data on patients – and search for a "molecular needle in a haystack." This is, in fact, exactly the strategy being pursued by Blueprint, BLU-667's maker. The company is betting that even though RET mutations are rare, occurring in most cases of medullary thyroid cancer but only 1% to 2% of non-small cell lung cancers. It turns up, even more rarely, in other cancers, too.
	5.9.9 AACR - immunothérapies
With big Keytruda and Opdivo data coming at AACR, analyst hands Merck the early edge [FiercePharma] Meanwhile, Monday will be far from the first time investors use flawed comparisons to try to predict the eventual first-line lung cancer champion.
For Cancer Drugs, Will Monday's Data Be As Good As It Gets? [Forbes] For drug companies, the idea that even better drugs are always coming down the pike is part of the story they sell investors and policymakers. But it's often a long way between one innovation and another, and a first breakthrough in cancer does not guarantee a second.
	6.5 Médecines alternatives
fake médicine: Science-based medicine versus homeopathy in France [Respectful Insolence] It is to the credit of the 124 French doctors who spoke out about The One Quackery To Rule Them All. Their statement needs to be publicized near and far during Homeopathy Awareness Week.
	6.7.1 IA/bioinformatique
IBM Watson Artificial Intelligence System for Cancer Care: Interview with Elekta’s Andrew Wilson [MedGadget] We spoke with Andrew Wilson, Elekta’s Vice President of Global Marketing for Software Solutions, to find out more about the new offering, what AI has in-store for oncology care overall, and how medicine will be affected more broadly by deep learning and related computing fields.
	6.9 Controverses
J&J Baby Powder litigation takes new focus with asbestos claims [Reuters] J&J and Imerys Talc America, a unit of Imerys SA, have vowed to appeal the New Jersey verdict and deny asbestos has ever been present in their products or that their talc can cause any form of cancer.
Contest models highlight inefficiencies of scientific funding [arXiv] We find that the effort researchers waste in writing proposals may be comparable to the total scientific value of the additional funding, especially when only a small percentage of proposals are funded.