Onco Actu du 10 janvier 2019

	1.4 BIOLOGIE - TECHNOS
Commentary: Attacking Biology’s Complexity with New Genomics Approaches [Fortune] Traditionally, the analysis of tissue has been the domain of pathology – thin slices stained with one or two markers. An important future area of tool development will bring genomic-level analysis to tissue with intact spatial positioning of cells, thereby allowing genomic assays to be run on cells at the tissue level.
	2.11 ETIOLOGIE - ALIMENTATION
Artificial Sweeteners, Not Good, Not Bad [NY Times] Researchers looked at 35 observational studies and 21 controlled trials of nonsugar sweeteners in children and adults. Some compared intake of sweeteners with no intake; others compared lower with higher intakes. They found no convincing evidence that nonsugar sweeteners had any effect in adults on eating behavior, cancer, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, mood, behavior or cognition.
	2.5 ETIOLOGIE - GÈNES
BRCA Exchange aggregates data on thousands of BRCA variants to inform understanding of cancer risk [NCI] “There’s an urgent need for sharing data in cancer predisposition research. The BRCA Exchange is proof of principle that large-scale collaboration and data sharing can be achieved and can provide the latest and best quality information to enable clinicians and individuals to improve care.”
	5. TRAITEMENTS
Protein found more in advanced prostate cancer could be key to preventing drug resistance [Institute of Cancer Research] “We saw that AR-V7 expression is rare in the early stages of prostate cancer, but emerges after hormone therapy alongside other mechanisms of resistance – highlighting its importance in the biology of advanced prostate cancer."
Sponge offers hope of 'less toxic' chemotherapy [BBC News] Scientists believe they may have found a way to make cancer chemotherapy treatment less toxic to the body. They have begun testing a tiny sponge that sits inside a vein and removes excess chemo drugs from the blood once they have attacked the target tumour.
	5.1 TRAITEMENTS - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
Designer protein delivers signal of choice [Nature] A computational strategy has delivered a redesigned, more stable version of a cytokine protein that mimics the natural protein’s interactions with receptors, opening the way for designer cytokine-based therapeutics.
Scientists design protein that prods cancer-fighting T-cells [UW Medicine] The new protein has been dubbed Neo-2/15 because, in addition to mimicking the effect of IL-2, the protein can also mimic the effect of another interleukin, IL-15, which is being studied as another possible anticancer immunotherapy.
Researchers redesign a cancer-busting protein—without the side effects [Science] For patients with aggressive kidney and skin cancers, an immune-boosting protein called interleukin-2 (IL-2) can be a lifesaver. But the dose at which it fights cancer can also produce life-threatening side effects. Now, scientists have used computer modeling to design a new protein from scratch that mimics IL-2’s immune-enhancing abilities, while avoiding its dangerous side effects. The protein has so far been tested only in animals, but it may soon enter human trials.
	5.12 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES
Immunotherapy Effective in Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma [NCI] In the new NCI-led trial, tumors either shrank or stopped growing following treatment with the checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq).
	5.12.1 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PARTENARIATS
What The Software Ordered: New Partnership Pairs AI, Immunotherapy To Boost Odds For Beating Cancer [GE] GE Healthcare and the Vanderbilt center announced a five-year partnership seeking to make recoveries such as Carter’s common and bring immunotherapy to the mainstream.
	5.12.7 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - VACCINS
Progress in the fight against brain cancer [Nature] The new vaccine studies show that supporting treatments such as the steroid dexamethasone can hamper the potency of immune responses. They also suggest that responses can be raised against both mutated and non-mutated tumour-related proteins, and show how these responses can be limited by immune-cell exhaustion.
	5.12.8 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - ECONOMIE
Pembrolizumab with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy for untreated, metastatic, non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer [NICE] Pembrolizumab, with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy is recommended for use within the Cancer Drugs Fund, as an option for untreated, metastatic, non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in adults whose tumours have no epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)- or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive mutations. It is only recommended if: pembrolizumab is stopped at 2 years of uninterrupted treatment or earlier if disease progresses and the company provides pembrolizumab according to the managed access agreement.
Bluebird endorses plan for installment-based payments for costly gene therapy [EndPoints] More recently, an ICER report published in 2017 debated the merits of the amortization model for gene therapies, suggesting that although the idea was commendable it may actually contribute to increased overall prices for already expensive treatments.
	5.2 PHARMA
Rewiring R&D: The FierceBiotech JPM 2019 breakfast debate [Fierce Biotech] For years, there’s been a lot of talk about artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and digital in general around biopharma R&D, but often it can get trapped in a loop of hyperbole and big promises. We wanted to cut through some of the ambiguity around just what it means, how it can help drug development and ultimately, patients.
Novartis puts AI on the job to help reps say the right things to the right doctors [Fierce Pharma] Of course, Novartis isn’t alone in its digital quest. Pfizer, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline also appointed their first chief digital officers over the past couple years, signaling how the trend is taking hold at top drug companies.
	5.2.1 PHARMA - PARTENARIATS
Basilea posts interim pivotal data on ArQule-partnered cancer drug [Fierce Biotech] Basilea Pharmaceutica has shared interim data from a registrational trial of ArQule-partnered cancer drug derazantinib. The oral FGFR kinase inhibitor achieved an objective response rate of 21% in the first 29 evaluable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) patients enrolled in the study.
Cancer Research UK, NIHR and Athenex to trial innovative oral chemotherapy [Cancer Research UK] The partnership will enable researchers to investigate Athenex’s innovative experimental drug Oraxol, the first oral formulation of the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel, in combination with other cancer treatments.
	5.3 TRAITEMENTS - FDA, EMA, NICE...
EU Medicines Agency picks up its roots, embracing Amsterdam [STAT] With Britain leaving the EU, the agency’s roughly 60 British staff are technically no longer eligible to work at the agency, but Rasi said exceptions can be made and he expects about half of them to make the move.
	5.4 TRAITEMENTS - ECONOMIE
Stivarga final NICE recommendation for hepatocellular carcinoma [Pharma Times] According to NICE, a few hundred patients each year will benefit from the decision, which marks a turnaround from a guidance published earlier in the year which rejected the drug.
Regorafenib for previously treated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma [NICE] Regorafenib is recommended as an option for treating advanced unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma in adults who have had sorafenib, only if: they have Child–Pugh grade A liver impairment and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1 and the company provides it according to the commercial arrangement.
	6. LUTTE CONTRE LES CANCERS
Gauging Progress Against Cervical Cancer [Cancer Research Catalyst] Given that January was named after the Roman god Janus, whose two faces allowed him to look both backward into the old year and forward into the new one, it seemed a good time to look back at the progress we made against cervical cancer in 2018 and to look for ways to build on the progress and further reduce the incidence and mortality of the disease in the future.
	6.1 OBSERVATION
Statement from American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) President Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO, on the American Cancer Society Cancer Facts and Figures 2019 Report [ASCO] Advances in treating and detecting the disease, as well as a reduction in tobacco use, have led to this sustained drop in cancer mortality, particularly for lung cancer. Of concern however, is the rising incidence of deaths due to obesity-related cancers.
Cancer Death Rate Continues to Decline [Science-Based Medicine] The title of this post is similar to my post from one year ago – because the death rate from cancer is, in fact, continuing to decline, as it was a year ago. This is good news, reflecting several trends. It also is in direct contradiction to the typical alternative medicine, pseudoscience, everything-is-killing-you narrative spread by promoters of dubious treatments.
	6.10 POLITIQUES
EU survey 2018 [BMA] A BMA survey of over 1,500 EU doctors working in the UK has found that less than a quarter have faith in the Prime Minister's commitment to protect their rights in the event of a no-deal Brexit, with over a third making plans to move abroad following Brexit.
	6.10.1 POLITIQUES (USA)
The first patient has been treated under the controversial “right to try” law [EndPoints] ERC-USA and the University of California, Irvine initiated treatment with the company’s investigational compound ERC-1671 — known as Gliovac in Europe — and which is in Phase 2 clinical trials in the US.