Onco Actu du 16 octobre 2018

	1. Biologie
In pursuit of the elusive stem cell [MIT News] One of the fundamental challenges to studying normal and cancer stem cells, and to ultimately harnessing that knowledge, is developing the ability to identify, purify, and propagate these cells. This has often proved tricky, as another key similarity between normal and cancer stem cells is that neither is visibly different from other cells in a tissue or tumor.
The Cancer Stem Cell Saga [In the Pipeline] Another big problem has been that no one has actually been able to reproducibly isolate any defined population of cancer stem cells, no matter what the tumor type. That sounds a bit hard to believe, given the amount of money and time that went into this idea, but there it is.
	2. Etiologie
Understanding Inherited Breast Cancer [Cancer Research Catalyst] October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is a good time to raise awareness of the role that heredity plays in breast cancer and to highlight recent research published in Nature that holds promise for helping people who undergo genetic testing for BRCA1 mutations to better understand the significance of the results they receive.
	2.7 Etiologie - Obésité
Bowel cancer in younger women linked to obesity [Cancer Research UK] The study, published in JAMA Oncology by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, followed 85,256 women over an average of 14 years, using body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of obesity. There were 114 cases of early onset bowel cancer among the women in the study, and obesity – as judged by a BMI over 30 – was linked to a higher risk of developing the disease.
	3.3 Prévention - Vaccins
HPV vaccination not linked with rise in teen risky sex [Reuters] Ogilvie wasn’t willing to speculate on why girls seemed to be making healthier sexual choices after the implementation of the HPV vaccination program. But it’s entirely possible that doctors sometimes throw in some education about sex when giving the vaccine, said Susan Rosenthal.
	4.12 Biopsies liquides
Blood Test ‘Biopsy’ for Kids with Brain Tumors Is Simple, Safe Way to See If Treatment Is Working [UCSF] Among the 12 children who had undergone liquid biopsy before and after radiation – standard treatment for many types of brain tumors – the investigators discovered that the circulating tumor DNA had decreased significantly, indicating the tumor had receded. This reduction was later confirmed by MRI in 10 of the 12 patients.
	4.13 Dép., diag. & prono. - Peau
Robot seeks out skin cancer with suction [BBC News] Fitted with suction cups to help it move, the prototype can be fitted with a dermatoscope to help look for signs of abnormalities, including skin cancer, something normally done manually by a doctor.
	4.2 Dép., diag. & prono. - Génome
Putting variants into practice: ClinGen, ClinVar, and the challenge of interpreting genetics in the clinic [Broad Institute] While efforts to standardize how genetic variants are interpreted for patient care have come a long way in the last five years, they still have far to go.
	4.9 Dép., diag. & prono. - Sein
3D mammography detected 34% more breast cancers in screening [Lund University] “We did, however, need to call back a few more women for additional examinations compared to traditional mammography. We needed to confirm that these women did not have cancer, as this method finds more structures in the breast in general. So, there was an increased call-back rate.”
	5. Traitements
Trial Results Highlight Changing Lung Cancer Treatment Landscape [NCI] The drugs tested in the trials, brigatinib (Alunbrig) and durvalumab (Imfinzi), respectively, are already being used to treat some patients with the disease, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Lung cancer experts agreed that the trials’ findings should further cement the value of these drugs in treating NSCLC, and continue an important trend.
	5.10 Traitements - Essais
How to fulfil China’s potential for carrying out clinical trials [BMJ] China has established 32 national centres for clinical medicine research, and formed a collaborative innovation network of more than 2100 medical institutions in 260 cities. Another attraction is that—for the time being and foreseeable future—trials conducted in China cost half or less compared to those conducted in Europe and North America because it has larger numbers of medical staff and a lower cost base.
	5.12.1 Immunothérapies - partenariats
SQZ play: Roche doubles down on a $1.37B-plus deal for a new approach to immuno-oncology out of Bob Langer’s lab [EndPoints] What Sharei had worked on in Langer’s lab was a device that squeezed a cell, creating openings for reengineering the cell into something new. In this case, they’re adding antigens that are intended to provoke a storm of CD8 killer cells that can be directed against cancer, the kind of immuno-oncology play that’s attractive on Wall Street.
	5.12.10 Immunothérapies - Fusions et acquisitions
HiFiBiO buys up H-Immune, joining forces to ‘combat cancer’ [FierceBiotech] The company is H-Immune which, back in 2016, was spun out of the French Atomic Energy Commission, and founded by Luc Boblet, Ph.D., the former co-founder and CEO of Institute Pasteur spinout PathoQuest.
	5.12.5 Immunothérapies - Pharma
F-star Appoints Dr Eliot Forster as Chief Executive Officer [F-star] The platform, based on superior and clinically-relevant novel biology, introduces an additional antigen-binding site in the Fc region of an antibody that allows for a ‘plug-and-play’ insertion into any monoclonal antibody. The resulting novel, bivalent binding bispecific antibodies (mAb2 TM) preserve the simplicity and manufacturability of the IgG format at the same time as creating extensive bispecific treatment opportunities.
F-star names ex-Immunocore CEO Eliot Forster as leader [FierceBiotech] F-star has two bispecific immuno-oncology drugs, FS-222 and FS-120, in preclinical development. F-star is yet to disclose the targets of either candidate but has been more forthcoming over the years about why it thinks its bispecific platform has an edge over rival technologies.
	5.2 Pharma
US FDA grants Lynparza Orphan Drug Designation for pancreatic cancer [AstraZeneca] The use of Lynparza (olaparib) in pancreatic cancer is being assessed in the ongoing Phase III POLO trial, which is testing Lynparza as maintenance monotherapy vs placebo in patients with germline BRCA-mutated metastatic pancreatic cancer whose disease has not progressed following 1st-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Results from the POLO trial are expected in the first half of 2019.
Can Kadcyla give Roche a softer landing when Herceptin biosims hit? New data could help [FiercePharma] Kadcyla could use the boost. It’s never quite performed up to expectations, despite the anticipation before its approval.
	5.3 Traitements - FDA, EMA, NICE...
Statement by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on FDA’s new steps to modernize drug development, improve efficiency and promote innovation of targeted therapies [FDA] The first document is the draft guidance, Hematologic Malignancies: Regulatory Considerations for Use of Minimal Residual Disease in Development of Drug and Biological Products for Treatment. Additionally, the agency today issued the final guidance, Developing Targeted Therapies in Low-Frequency Molecular Subsets of a Disease, which was issued as draft guidance in December 2017.
FDA takes new steps to encourage development of novel treatments for rare diseases [FDA] The FDA today issued a draft guidance for industry, Rare Diseases: Early Drug Development and the Role of Pre-IND Meetings, to assist sponsors of drug and biological products for the treatment of rare diseases in conducting more efficient and productive pre-investigational new drug application (pre-IND) meetings.
	5.6 ESMO
Financial impacts of cancer found to intensify disease burden among German patients [ESMO 2018 Press Release] Survey shows that cancer can lead to income loss, associated with adverse psychological effects in addition to material hardship.
	6.10 Politiques
Cancer researcher defends immigrant scientists [Nature] Ashani Weeraratna describes harassment she has faced and how current US immigration policies affect biomedical science.
	6.10.1 Politiques (USA)
Trump administration says it will force drug makers to disclose prices in ads [STAT] It’s unclear if requiring companies to include price information in advertisements will impact how much patients pay for drugs. The cost to a patient is determined by many other factors, such as their insurance, and could be anywhere from $0 to an amount greater than the drug’s list price.
	6.5 Médecines alternatives/complémentaires
My Cancer Free Life: A reality series designed to promote Stanislaw Burzynski’s quackery [Science-Based Medicine] Uchenna Agu, a reality TV star turned producer, plans on making a reality docuseries featuring patients “cured of cancer” by Burzynski. Worse, local Houston station KHOU-TV promoted his project on its morning show Great Day Houston.
	6.7.1 IA/bioinformatique
MIT has just announced a $1 billion plan to create a new college for AI [MIT Technology Review] It is the largest financial investment in AI by any US academic institution to date.
Applying Deep Learning to Metastatic Breast Cancer Detection [Google AI Blog] With these studies, we have made progress in demonstrating the robustness of our LYNA algorithm to support one component of breast cancer TNM staging, and assessing its impact in a proof-of-concept diagnostic setting. While encouraging, the bench-to-bedside journey to help doctors and patients with these types of technologies is a long one.
Google's AI can spot breast cancer better than humans [The Telegraph] According to the firm, its artificial intelligence can detect secondary cancer cells in medical scans with 99pc accuracy. For comparison, pathologists are on average 81pc accurate at detecting these cells when under time constraints.
	6.9 Controverses
Why Doctors Reject Tools That Make Their Jobs Easier [Scientific American] I want to tell you about a brouhaha in my field over a “new” medical discipline three hundred years ago. Half my fellow doctors thought it weighed them down and wanted nothing to do with it. The other half celebrated it as a means for medicine to finally become modern, objective, and scientific. The discipline was thermometry, and its controversial tool a glass tube used to measure body temperature called a thermometer.