Onco Actu du 3 mai 2018

	1. Biologie
Understanding the mutations that drive myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow [Institute of Cancer Research] The study suggested that the pattern of mutations caused by AICDA was more widespread than previously thought. And it found evidence that genes, including an important gene called TP53 which in its intact form helps protect against cancer, were targeted by an enzyme called APOBEC.
	2.4 Etiologie - Portables, ondes e-m
Mobile phone cancer warning as malignant brain tumours double [The Telegraph] Responding to the new research, Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics at The Open University, said the significance of the trend may be less clear cut than the research group claim.
	2.6 Etiologie - Environnement
Studies Examine Possible Cancer Risks for Firefighters at World Trade Center [ACS] Brawley also points out that firefighters in the study were tested more frequently than the average person, and more testing is associated with more diagnoses.
	3.1.1 Prévention - Tabac - e-cigs
Potential Public Health Effects of Reducing Nicotine Levels in Cigarettes in the United States [NEJM] We estimate that a nicotine product standard for cigarettes in the United States could save millions of lives and tens of millions of life-years over the next several decades.
Federal Government Sends Warning To Vaping Companies [NPR] E-liquids are used in electronic cigarettes, and they often use nicotine which can cause illness — even death — if ingested by a small child. Products targeted have names like Smurf Sauce and V'Nilla Cookies & Milk. "These are being deliberately designed in ways that they can be just mistakenly confused by a child," Gottlieb said in the briefing.
	4. Dépistage, diagnostic et pronostic
Pill for breast cancer diagnosis may outperform mammograms [University of Michigan] “It’s actually based on a failed drug,” Thurber said. “It binds to the target, but it doesn’t do anything, which makes it perfect for imaging.”
	4.11 Dép., diag. & prono. - Ovaire
Study Shows Experimental Screening Test Can Detect Endometrial and Ovarian Cancers [NCI] The PapSEEK test is potentially “very doable and amenable to clinical use," Dr. Srivastava noted. "It could be performed at the same time women undergo a Pap test for cervical cancer.”
	4.2 Dép., diag. & prono. - Génome
Increased Germline and Tumour Mutation Testing Recommended in Adolescent and Young Adults with Cancer [ESMO] Earlier guidelines have left genetic variants untested and undetected in AYAs.
Cancer Sequencing Hype And Reality [In the Pipeline] I think it’s safe to say that the average patient does not have the time nor the expertise to keep up with the actual biomedical literature, and thus relies on headlines and advertisements for an impression of the field, and that impression is pretty far off of reality.
	4.9 Dép., diag. & prono. - Sein
450,000 women missed out on breast screening appointments 'due to computer error' [Cancer Research UK] It’s worth remembering that most breast cancers are still found by women themselves, outside of the screening programme, so if you notice any unusual changes in your breast see your GP straight away.
Jeremy Hunt launches inquiry into 450,000 missed breast cancer screenings [The Guardian] “For them and others, it is incredibly upsetting to know that you did not receive an invitation to screening at a correct time and totally devastating to hear you may have lost or be about to lose a loved one because of administrative incompetence.”
The computer glitch that led to the breast screening disaster [The Guardian] The computer glitch that led to disaster was programmed into the system at the start of the trial in 2009. It has taken 10 years for the mistake to be recognised.
Breast scan error 'shortened up to 270 lives' - Hunt [BBC News] All women affected will now be contacted by letter by the end of May and those under 72 will receive an appointment for a catch-up mammogram.
Serious failure in English breast cancer screening may have shortened lives: minister [Reuters] Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt apologized for the “serious failure,” which he said was the result of a mistake in the computer system’s algorithm, and ordered an independent inquiry.
	5.12.10 Immunothérapies - Fusions et acquisitions
Janssen to Acquire BeneVir Biopharm to Advance Immunotherapy Regimens [Janssen] BeneVir engineers oncolytic viruses through the T-Stealth™ platform to overcome the barrier of the body’s immune system. Janssen intends to advance pre-clinical candidates as standalone therapies and in combination with other immunotherapies for the treatment of solid tumor cancers (e.g., lung, prostate, colorectal, etc.).
Playing the long game in I/O, J&J inks $1.04B deal to buy oncolytic virus platform biotech BeneVir [EndPoints] At the core of BeneVir is the T-Stealth platform, which it says makes viruses that can at once infect and kill cancer cells, evade detection by immune T cells (so they have more time to spread), and help activate T cells against antigen-presenting cancer cells.
	5.12.2 Immunothérapies - CAR-T
CAR-T Immunotherapy Eliminates Metastatic Colorectal Cancer in Mice [Thomas Jefferson University] Dr. Snook created a CAR-T therapy made specifically to treat GUCY2C-expressing cancers such as colorectal cancer. In this study, the researchers tested a human-ready version of the therapy in mice.
Cellectis Files IND for UCART22 in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL) [Cellectis] This is the 3rd IND filing for a TALEN®-based Gene Edited Allogeneic UCART Product Candidate.
	5.2.1 Pharma - Partenariats
Exelixis and Invenra Enter Into Collaboration to Discover and Develop Novel Biologics to Treat Cancer [Exelixis] Exelixis and Invenra will collaborate to discover and develop multispecific antibodies through the use of Invenra’s B-Body™ technology platform, which enables high-throughput discovery, functional screening, and in vitro and in vivo preclinical characterization of promising therapeutic candidates.
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Flatiron Health Expand Collaboration with a Three-Year Agreement [BMS] Bristol-Myers Squibb will use Flatiron’s real-world data to accelerate its research and development efforts, as well as improve its ability to generate additional evidence on the use of its cancer medicines outside of clinical trials.
Flatiron Health, Purchased By Roche, Signs Three-Year Deal With Bristol-Myers [Forbes] Flatiron’s version makes use of its proprietary electronic medical record, used by more than 2,500 cancer doctors, to collect data on patients. Using that information, it can create virtual clinical studies to try to see if what happens in randomized trials matches with what happens in the real world.
	5.2.3 Pharma - économie
Sandoz receives complete response letter from the US FDA for proposed biosimilar rituximab [Novartis] While disappointed, Sandoz remains committed to further discussions with FDA in order to bring this important medicine to US patients as soon as possible.
Pharma’s broken business model — Part 2: Scraping the barrel in drug discovery [EndPoints] Given that we are rapidly running out of viable new drug targets, it is easy to see why Pharma’s R&D productivity has been declining so rapidly by the Law of Diminishing Returns.
Roche wins reprieve as Novartis biosimilar delayed in U.S. [Reuters] The news follows a similar setback for another biosimilar copy of Rituxan from Celltrion and its partner Teva. Together, the two delays win Roche extra breathing space in the crucial U.S. market.
Too many cancer drugs? Crowded market gives investors pause [Reuters] “The traditional investment thesis in biotech is to have a differentiated medicine with not many competitors, which helps drive value. Here the problem is that even if there is a big patient benefit, there are questions as to how long your advantage lasts and what your commercial edge will be.”
	5.9 AACR
Highlights from the AACR Annual Meeting 2018 [Cancer Research Catalyst] The following summary about the latest discoveries and cutting-edge research is timely because May is National Cancer Research Month.
	6.1 Observation
'DES daughters' with rare cancer continue to face higher death rates [Reuters] Women who were exposed to the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) in utero, and who subsequently developed a rare type of vaginal and cervical cancer, continue to face a higher rate of death between the ages of 35 and 65, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
	6.10 Politiques
European Commission proposes €100 billion research spending plan [Science] Once the negotiations are done, analysts predict the final amount for Horizon Europe will likely be lower than the proposed €100 billion.
	6.6 Publications
Accused cancer scientist resigns as editor of prestigious journal [Science] Verma’s resignation from the editorship came 5 days after Science published a feature article describing allegations by eight women who said that Verma sexually harassed them—accusations he has strongly denied.
Dr Magdalena Skipper appointed new Editor-in-Chief of Nature [Nature] Dr Skipper will be only the eighth Editor-in-Chief in Nature's 149-year history and the first to come from a life sciences background.
	6.7.1 IA/bioinformatique
Daphne Koller, A-list backers unite to create machine learning drug R&D startup [FierceBiotech] On paper, insitro is well placed to push machine learning-enabled drug R&D to its limits. Koller has been making waves in machine learning for more than two decades and has been applying her skills to biomedical research since the early 2000s, so the science side of the operation is in good hands.