Onco Actu du 19 octobre 2018

	1. Biologie
Science Surgery: ‘How quickly do tumours develop?’ [Cancer Research UK] According to Professor Trevor Graham, a Cancer Research UK-funded cancer evolution expert, the best evidence for the fact that most cancers grow slowly comes from screening.
Researchers Explore a Cancer Paradox [NY Times] Healthy cells carry a surprising number of cancer-linked mutations, but they don’t turn into tumors. What’s holding them back?
	4.2 Dép., diag. & prono. - Génome
Combining data from the genetic testing techniques can guide patient care, scientists say. [The Scientist] Scott Newman, a cancer biologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and his colleagues performed whole genome, exome, and RNA sequencing on tumors from 253 pediatric oncology patients, as well as whole genome and exome sequencing on healthy tissue samples from the same children. “It is a whole lot of sequencing. I admit that,” Newman said during his presentation of the project, called Genomes for Kids.
White-people-only DNA tests show how unequal science has become [MIT Technology Review] Companies are selling disease-risk tests that only work in people of European ancestry. They hope to fix that soon.
	4.3 Dép., diag. & prono. - Industriels
Amgen sharpens focus on genetic sequencing with $66M investment [EndPoints] “Oxford Nanopore’s long-read sequencing capability creates a window into parts of the genome that have been out of reach, as well as giving us a much better handle on structural variants that confer risk of a wide variety of diseases,” said Kári Stefánsson, founder of Amgen subsidiary deCODE Genetics, which has been using Oxford Nanopore’s technology.
Oxford Nanopore secures £50m from Amgen to develop pocket-sized DNA sequencer [The Telegraph] The technology works by pulling DNA through tiny nanopores and then measuring the electrical signals produced. The firm claims its device, called MinION, could in future be used to speed up the diagnosis of cancer.
	5.12 Immunothérapies
Fighting Cancer with Natural Killer Cells [NIH Director's Blog] The video shows an army of NK cells (green) attacking a tumor in a mouse (blood vessels, blue) treated with a well-established type of cancer immunotherapy known as a checkpoint inhibitor. What makes the video so interesting is that researchers didn’t think checkpoint inhibitors could activate NK cells.
	5.12.2 Immunothérapies - CAR-T, thérapies cellulaires
The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy Partners with Xyphos Biosciences to Develop Universal Programmable CAR-T Cells for Cancer Treatment [Parker Institute] Xyphos’ convertibleCAR technology exploits a powerful immune surveillance pathway involving NKG2D receptors that are naturally present on different cell types within the immune system including natural killer (NK) cells, T-cells and some macrophages.
Parker Institute backs an upstart biotech looking to develop a new, convertible CAR-T [EndPoints] Generally speaking, it’s their work on convertible CAR-Ts, revolving around NKG2D receptors on several cell types, including T cells and NK killer cells that have fascinated the field.
	5.12.3 Immunothérapies-combinaisons
Merck's Keytruda, ready to challenge Bristol-Myers Squibb, posts kidney cancer combination win [FiercePharma] One key fact Merck was quick to point out? The survival and response benefits were consistent across risk groups and expression levels of biomarker PD-L1.
A Year Early, Merck Touts Good Kidney Cancer News to Push Rival BMS [Xconomy] Merck said an independent committee stopped the study early because of the significant benefit; the company did not expect results until 2019 or 2020. There’s a caveat to the good news: Merck did not disclose specific data.
Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in Combination with Pfizer’s Inlyta® (axitinib) Significantly Improved Overall Survival (OS) and Progression-free Survival (PFS) as First-Line Therapy for Advanced or Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma [Merck] KEYTRUDA is First Anti-PD-1 Therapy in Combination to Improve Both OS and PFS in Advanced or Metastatic RCC, the Most Common Type of Kidney Cancer.
	5.12.5 Immunothérapies - Pharma
FDA slaps a full hold on Affimed’s T cell engager in wake of a lethal reaction [EndPoints] The biotech halted their Phase I program for the CD19/CD3-targeting T cell engager AFM11 after the death of one patient and a life-threatening reaction in two others in a high-dose group. The company has offered no explanations of what happened to the patients, though cytokine storms have afflicted patients for years in cell therapy studies.
	5.2 Pharma
Can Pfizer's new breast cancer drug Talzenna really make a dent in the PARP field? [FiercePharma] Pfizer could get a leg up on rivals by proving Talzenna’s value in treating other cancers, though. Last December, the company struck a deal with Array Biopharma to test various combinations of Array’s MEK inhibitor along with Talzenna in non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer.
	5.2.2 Pharma - Fusions & Acquisitions
Novartis buys Endocyte for $2.1 billion, causing an outspoken critic to admit he was badly wrong [STAT] Is 177LU-PSMA-617 a real prostate cancer drug? A large Phase 3 clinical trial just recently started enrolling patients, so the jury’s still out. Results won’t be known until well into 2019. But it’s Novartis’ problem now. Endocyte and its shareholders are walking away winners.
Novartis announces planned acquisition of Endocyte to expand expertise in radiopharmaceuticals and build on commitment to transformational therapeutic platforms [Novartis] Endocyte uses drug conjugation technology to develop targeted therapies with companion imaging agents, including 177Lu-PSMA-617, a potential first-in-class investigational radioligand therapy (RLT) for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
	5.6.16 ESMO - Appareil digestif
Women more prone to selected oesophagogastric cancer chemotherapy side-effects [ESMO 2018 Press Release] In terms of treatment efficacy, no significant difference was seen in survival between male and female patients. The overall response rate – namely the number of patients achieving a reduction in tumour size on chemotherapy – was higher in males to an extent that approached but did not reach statistical significance.
	5.6.17 ESMO - Foie
Novartis announces presentation of new Lutathera® NETTER-1 data at ESMO demonstrating significant improvement in PFS regardless of baseline liver tumor burden [Novartis] Lutathera treatment was associated with an ~80% reduction in the estimated risk of tumor progression or death vs comparator, regardless of baseline liver tumor burden.
	5.6.6 ESMO - Sein
One in six premenopausal early breast cancer patients do not adhere to hormonal therapy [ESMO 2018 Press Release] The French study is the first to assess adherence by measuring serum levels of tamoxifen rather than simply asking patients about how they take their treatment; there has previously been limited information on adherence to hormonal therapy in younger women.
	6. Lutte contre les cancers
Project Baseline Aims to Ward Off Illness Before We Get Sick [NY Times] The study, called Project Baseline, is a joint effort between Stanford and Duke Universities and Verily, a life sciences company owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Researchers are recruiting 10,000 adults across the United States who will be examined in extreme detail and followed intensively for at least four years.
	6.1 Observation
New Statistical Method Estimates Time to Metastasis of Breast Cancer in U.S. Women [AACR] The study found that while women diagnosed with HR-positive breast cancer have lower risk of progression to metastatic disease soon after the diagnosis, their risk persists for several years. In contrast, for women diagnosed with HR-negative disease, the risk of progression to metastatic disease is high soon after the diagnosis, but the long-term risk is lower than that for HR-positive disease.
	6.11 Patients
Flat Out: Rejecting Breast Reconstruction [NY Times] After a double mastectomy, Catherine Guthrie wanted to retain her strength and challenge the idea of feminine norms.
Researchers, cancer patients, and philanthropists launch "Count Me In" [Broad Institute] Count Me In is being stewarded by four leading organizations: Emerson Collective, a California-based social change organization; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a leading nonprofit biomedical research institution; the Biden Cancer Initiative, an independent nonprofit organization that builds on the federal government’s Cancer Moonshot; and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a leading cancer hospital.
Researchers Want Cancer Patients To Share Their Medical Information In Search of Cures [Time] A new non-profit project from several leading health organizations that launched Thursday, called Count Me In, lets cancer patients send their medical information directly to researchers who are searching for cures.
	6.7 DMP, Big Data & applis
The future of healthcare: our vision for digital, data and technology in health and care [GOV.UK] Our ultimate objective is the provision of better care and improved health outcomes for people in England. But this cannot be done without a clear focus on improving the technology used by the 1.4 million NHS staff, 1.5 million-strong social care workforce and those many different groups who deliver and plan health and care services for the public.