Onco Actu du 20 février 2019

	1. BIOLOGIE
Shark DNA could help cure cancer and age-related illnesses in humans [BBC News] The first map of great whites sharks' DNA has revealed "mutations" that protect the animals against cancer and other illnesses. Scientists hope more research could help apply the findings to treating age-related illnesses in humans.
	2.4 ETIOLOGIE - PORTABLES, ONDES E-M
Row over Cancer, Cell Phone Review [MicroWaveNews The new paper by some of the most prominent members of the RF–health community contends that epidemiological studies do not show an increased risk of brain tumors or acoustic neuroma associated with the use of mobile phones. That is, cell phones are cancer safe.
	3.3 PRÉVENTION - VACCINS
Cervical cancer could be eliminated in most countries by 2100 – research [The Guardian] Last year the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) called for coordinated global efforts to eliminate the disease. The research, published in the journal Lancet Oncology, shows how this could be done by scaling up vaccine coverage and screening.
	4. DÉPISTAGE, DIAGNOSTIC ET PRONOSTIC
Broad Institute launches Gerstner Center for Cancer Diagnostics [Broad Institute] New endeavor will advance blood-based biopsies and other technologies to speed cancer diagnosis and track patients’ response to therapies.
	4.10 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - POUMON
Genetic clues can be used to predict whether early-stage cancer will form an invasive tumour [Nature] Early-stage cancerous growths can look similar under the microscope, and whether they will form an invasive tumour is hard to predict. Genomic profiles of these growths in the human lung now enable such a prediction to be made.
	4.2 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - GÉNOME
NGS Panel Developed to Help Researchers ID Actionable Breast Cancer Mutations, Rx Targets [Genome Web] The assay, called MammaSeq NGS, comprehensively covers known driver hotspots targeting 79 genes and 1,369 mutations which the team believes could help cancer researchers identify clinically actionable mutations and potential therapeutic targets.
	5. TRAITEMENTS
New organ sparing radiotherapy plan could reduce treatment side effects [Institute of Cancer Research] The new technique, details of which are published in the journal Physics in Medicine & Biology, uses a concept called ‘adaptive margins’, which factors in nearby organs when planning the shape of radiotherapy treatment.
	5.10 TRAITEMENTS - ESSAIS
Move clinical trial data sharing from an option to an imperative [STAT] Several platforms are now available to help researchers share patient-level data. These platforms are tailored to address researchers’ concerns — whether that’s fear of losing credit for their work or losing control of their data — and resolve practical worries about how to actually share it.
Structural and clinical barriers keep 3 of 4 cancer patients from participating in trials [Fred Hutch] More than half of the patients (55.6 percent) did not participate in a trial because no trial was available for their type and/or stage of cancer at their treatment center. An additional 21.5 percent of the patients were ineligible for whatever trials were available due to clinical barriers like criteria that excludes patients with additional health issues, known as comorbidities.
Joining a clinical trial is too hard for many cancer patients [Reuters] “The reason most patients don’t go into clinical trials is not because of the patient, but because of all the barriers in front of the patient, including structural and clinical factors.”
	5.12 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES
Neoadjuvant PD-1 Blockade in Glioblastoma [ESMO] Two letters published on 11 February 2019 in the Nature Medicine reveal feasibility, safety and immunobiological effects of neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade in patients with glioblastoma, while the third letter provides perspective on immune and genomic correlates of response to anti-PD-1 therapy in glioblastoma.
	5.12.4 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - ESSAIS
Merck’s PhIII liver cancer study for Keytruda fails on two key endpoints, just three months after the FDA gave it the green light [EndPoints] This wasn’t the only confirmatory Phase III study to flop. Just weeks ago Eli Lilly had to suspend marketing of Lartruvo after its pivotal for soft tissue sarcoma failed. These back-to-back setbacks, though, are unlikely to slow down the FDA, which has proved eager to hand out accelerated OKs — particularly for cancer drugs — in recent years.
Merck Provides Update on KEYNOTE-240, a Phase 3 Study of KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in Previously Treated Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma [Merck] In the final analysis of the study, there was an improvement in OS for patients treated with KEYTRUDA compared to placebo, however these OS results did not meet statistical significance per the pre-specified statistical plan.
Merck's Keytruda fails late-stage study in liver cancer patients [Reuters] The results could hamper prospects for the drug, which had received an accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November as a treatment for patients with advanced liver cancer who had been previously treated with Bayer AG’s Nexavar.
	5.12.5 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PHARMA
Between Merck and Pfizer, the race is on in kidney cancer—but analysts are calling it early [Fierce Pharma] After Merck & Co. rolled out new details from its phase 3 trial over the weekend, Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat predicted the Keytruda combo was “likely to be considered standard-of-care for first-line RCC across subpopulations” and added that it “sets a high bar for future trials in the indication.”
	5.12.6 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - AMM
FDA Approves Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) for the Adjuvant Treatment of Patients with Melanoma with Involvement of Lymph Node(s) Following Complete Resection [Merck] First Approval in U.S. for KEYTRUDA in the Adjuvant Setting; Fourth FDA Approval for KEYTRUDA in Skin Cancers.
FDA approves pembrolizumab for adjuvant treatment of melanoma [FDA] Approval was based on EORTC1325/KEYNOTE‑054 (NCT02362594), a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, trial in 1019 patients with completely resected, stage IIIA (>1 mm lymph node metastasis), IIIB or IIIC melanoma (AJCC 7th ed).
	5.2 PHARMA
Roche gains quick review for two cancer drugs [Biopharma Dive] In cancer, Roche is also counting on Alecensa (alectinib), Perjeta (pertuzumab) and Venclexta (venetoclax) to serve as successors to Rituxan, Herceptin and Avastin. Replacing three of the most successful biologic cancer therapies, however, will be no easy task.
Pfizer's Forgotten Cancer Pill Is About to Become Its Next Blockbuster [The Motley Fool] Inlyta isn't the only kinase inhibitor that tries to starve tumors by inhibiting VEGF, but it's a lot more specific than other members of its class. It looks like specificity makes a difference, because two multi-kinase inhibitors, Sutent and Votrient, proved too toxic when combined with Bristol-Myers Squibb's PD-1 inhibitor, Opdivo.
FDA grants Priority Review to Roche’s personalised medicine entrectinib [Roche] These NDAs are based on results from the integrated analysis of the pivotal Phase II STARTRK-2, Phase I STARTRK-1 and Phase I ALKA-372-001 trials, and data from the Phase I/Ib STARTRK-NG study.
FDA grants priority review to Roche’s polatuzumab vedotin in previously treated aggressive lymphoma [Roche] “Polatuzumab vedotin, a potential first-in-class antibody drug conjugate, in combination with bendamustine and Rituxan, improved clinical outcomes including survival in some people with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma compared to bendamustine and Rituxan alone."
As generic competition stutter sales of top oncology drugs, Roche secures speedy review for pair of experimental cancer offerings [EndPoints] The priority review was granted on the basis of an 80-patient study in heavily pre-treated subjects that showed the combo eclipsed median overall survival (an exploratory endpoint) compared to BR alone, helping patients live longer by 12.4 months versus 4.7 months.
	5.3.4 TRAITEMENTS - AMM (FDA, EMA,...)
Pfizer Receives European Approval for ZIRABEV™ (bevacizumab), a Biosimilar to Avastin® [Pfizer] Pfizer Inc. today announced the European Commission (EC) has approved ZIRABEV™ for the treatment of metastatic carcinoma of the colon or rectum, metastatic breast cancer, unresectable advanced, metastatic or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), advanced and/or metastatic renal cell cancer and persistent, recurrent or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix.
	5.4 TRAITEMENTS - ECONOMIE
With one manufacturer and little money to be made, supplies of a critical cancer drug are dwindling [STAT] Companies have very little incentive to manufacture a drug like BCG. Although it’s been used to fight cancer since the 1970s, it isn’t easy to produce. And priced at a relatively modest $100-$200 a dose, it’s not a drug that companies are rushing to make, even if it’s no longer patented; right now, Merck is the only manufacturer for the U.S. and European markets.
	6.1 OBSERVATION
Smokers Less Likely To Survive Dangerous Form Of Skin Cancer Than Non-Smokers [Forbes] The study published today in the journal Cancer Research and funded by Cancer Research UK looked at more than 700 patients with melanoma and found that smokers were 40 per cent less likely to survive the disease than people who have never smoked.
	6.6 PUBLICATIONS
To move research from quantity to quality, go beyond good intentions [Nature] Journals need to shift from being knowledge distributors to being knowledge custodians. Custodians do not publish and forget. They ensure that data remain accessible and prioritize concerns about research quality.
Is Hybrid a Valid Pathway to Open Access? Publishers Argue Yes, in Response to Plan S [The Scholarly Kitchen] As we await the next communication from Coalition S, the largest publishers indicate that they will not abandon the hybrid pathway for open access.