Onco Actu du 1er mars 2019

	1. BIOLOGIE
Atlas of acute myeloid leukemia cell types may lead to improved, targeted therapies [Mass. General Hospital] In their study, published in Cell, the team uses advanced technologies to detail both genetic mutations and gene expression in thousands of individual bone marrow cells from AML patients and healthy donors.
	1.4 BIOLOGIE - TECHNOS
Gene-editing causes accidental changes — scientists now have a new way to track them [Stanford] His lab has created something called "genome-wide off-target analysis by two-cell embryo injection" — GOTI for short — and it allows scientists to tally how many accidental, off-target edits were made in the process of changing other DNA.
The Challenge of Using CRISPR to Knock In Genes [The Scientist] In the past few years, researchers have developed many new strategies to boost the efficiency of knocking in genes both large and small using CRISPR-Cas9, and along the way they’ve proposed and tested new applications for this type of gene editing. Here, The Scientist explores a few of the most promising approaches.
CRISPR offshoot still makes mistakes editing DNA, raising concerns about its medical use [Science] The mistakes are still rare overall, says David Liu, a chemist at Harvard University whose team developed the first generation of base editors, and are unlikely to interfere with laboratory uses of the technology. But they are enough to concern anyone contemplating use of the technology in patients, Liu and others say.
	2.6 ETIOLOGIE - ENVIRONNEMENT
Radioactive cancer drugs could pose risk to cremation workers [Reuters] Yu and his colleagues were concerned that the heat from the cremation might have volatilized the radioactive drug, sending it into the air where it could be breathed in by anyone working at the crematorium. They contacted Arizona’s Board of Radiation Control, which sent out a team to measure any radioactivity in the crematorium that might be traced back to the patient.
	4.10 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - FDA, EMA, NICE,...
First guidance on new rules for certain medical devices [EMA] The new regulations introduce new roles and responsibilities for EMA and national competent authorities (NCAs) in relation to certain types of medical devices and in-vitro diagnostics.
	4.12 BIOPSIES LIQUIDES
Geisinger, Johns Hopkins Testing Liquid Biopsy Assay for Early Cancer Detection [Genome Web] At the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology meeting here last night, Joshua Cohen, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University who was involved in developing the test, called CancerSEEK, said that the study aims to recruit 50,000 healthy individuals.
	4.2 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - GÉNOME
Medicare should stop blocking access to next-generation sequencing for people with hereditary cancer [STAT] CMS said that under its March coverage decision it would not pay for next-generation sequencing to identify hereditary cancer syndromes in people with early-stage cancers. That’s a very different reason for sequencing than trying to select the right drug for treatment, and it also makes no scientific sense.
Health minister: NHS must lead the world in genomic healthcare [GOV.UK] The new strategy will build on Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock’s ambition to sequence 5 million genomes in the UK by 2023 to 2024.
How to lead the world (in genomic healthcare) [PHG Foundation] Maintaining a coordinated, coherent strategy across both sectors is an important step towards achieving this goal. However, there are many complexities that must be navigated to ensure a successful balance between health and wealth benefits from genomics, since they do not always align precisely.
	4.9 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - SEIN
How a new breast cancer biomarker could help patients identify best treatment options [The Conversation] Our research has shown a cancer-related protein, named SHON (secreted hominoid-specific oncogene), is associated with breast cancer’s response to treatment. It accurately predicts if a patient will benefit from five-year anti-oestrogen therapy and how they will respond to chemotherapy, which is often used to shrink a tumour before surgery.
	5.1 TRAITEMENTS - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
How prostate cancer becomes treatment resistant [Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute] Their findings—which include the metabolic rewiring and the epigenetic alteration that drives this switch— reveal that an FDA-approved drug holds potential as a neuroendocrine prostate cancer treatment.
	5.12.1 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PARTENARIATS
Bispecifics player Abpro teams up with China’s NJCTTQ in biobucks deal worth up to $4B [Fierce Biotech] The pair will use Abpro’s DiversImmune technology, one of two platforms the Massachusetts-based company uses to develop drug candidates. The company was vague about the targets of the collaboration, saying only that they would develop bispecific antibodies, such as T-cell engagers, for immuno-oncology.
	5.2.1 PHARMA - PARTENARIATS
J&J bags option on AdoRx lung cancer drugs [Fierce Biotech] AdoRx, a Scottish biotech, began operations in 2017 with a focus on discovering adenosine receptor antagonists that engage their targets in the adenosine-rich tumor microenvironment. That focus led AdoRx to embark on programs to discover drugs that block adenosine A2A or both A2A and A2B.
	5.2.2 PHARMA - FUSIONS & ACQUISITIONS
Celgene Complications [In The Pipeline] And there’s always the outside chance that someone else will be convinced by those arguments and jump into the bidding as well. I don’t see that happening, but hey, Celgene is 8% cheaper today than it was yesterday, so it is arguably on sale.
	5.3 TRAITEMENTS - FDA, EMA, NICE...
FDA cautions patients, providers about using robotically-assisted surgical devices for mastectomy and other cancer-related surgeries [FDA] The FDA has not granted marketing authorization for any robotically-assisted surgical devices for use in mastectomy or for the treatment or prevention of cancer.
FDA sounds an alarm on using robotic devices in cancer surgeries, citing concerns about safety and results [STAT] For many hospitals, the ability to perform robotic surgery is a selling point. Last year, for instance, Northwell Health on New York’s Long Island held a press conference to announce that its surgeons had carried out the first robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy in the U.S., using a da Vinci system, and quoted the patient as saying she “refused to be mutilated” by standard surgery.
Use, Safety, and Efficacy of Single-Patient Use of the US Food and Drug Administration Expanded Access Program [JAMA Oncology] The FDA Expanded Access program provided access to investigational products at all stages of development and to patients of all ages with a variety of cancer types. Despite being heavily pretreated, a small but meaningful proportion of patients appeared to benefit.
	5.3.4 TRAITEMENTS - AMM (FDA, EMA,...)
FDA approves Herceptin Hylecta for subcutaneous injection in certain HER2-positive breast cancers [Roche] Herceptin Hylecta is a ready-to-use formulation that can be administered in two to five minutes, compared to 30 to 90 minutes for intravenous Herceptin.
	5.4 TRAITEMENTS - ECONOMIE
Abemaciclib with an aromatase inhibitor for previously untreated, hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer [NICE] Taking into account the commercial arrangements for all the CDK 4/6 inhibitors, abemaciclib is a cost-effective use of NHS resources and it can be recommended.
	5.9 AACR
Amgen Highlights Progress Of Innovative Early Oncology Pipeline With New Data At AACR 2019 [Amgen] For the first time, preclinical data will be presented on AMG 510, a first-in-class investigational KRAS­G12C inhibitor being evaluated for the treatment of solid tumors. Data at the meeting will also showcase Amgen's novel bispecific T cell engager (BiTE®) platform, including preclinical data evaluating the use of AMG 757, a DLL3-targeted BiTE®molecule, in resistant subtypes of melanoma.
	6. LUTTE CONTRE LES CANCERS
Cancer Trends Progress Report [NCI] The report, intended for policy makers, researchers, and public health professionals, includes key measures of progress along the cancer control continuum and uses national trend data to illustrate where improvements have been made.
NCI’s Rare Cancer Clinics: Engaging Patients and Fostering Collaboration [NCI] While MyPART will continue to focus mostly on children and adolescents, NCI-CONNECT is studying 12 rare central nervous system cancers in adults. Some of these 12 tumor types are diagnosed in a few thousand people each year. Others are so rare that only a few dozen have ever been reported.
	6.10 POLITIQUES
Paul Nurse on Brexit: ‘UK is sleepwalking into a disaster’ [Nature] For Nobel-prizewinning geneticist Paul Nurse, the gloves are off. Brexit is one month away, and Nurse — director of London’s Francis Crick Institute — says that the United Kingdom is headed for catastrophe.
	6.6 PUBLICATIONS
University of California boycotts publishing giant Elsevier over journal costs and open access [Science] The stand by UC, which followed eight months of negotiations, could have significant impacts on scientific communication and the direction of the so-called open access movement, in the United States and beyond.
Big pharma is embracing open-access publishing like never before [Nature] Proportion of open-access publications with authors from the pharmaceutical industry doubled between 2009 and 2016.
Huge US institution cancels subscription with Elsevier [Nature] University of California and Dutch publisher fail to strike deal that would allow researchers to publish under open-access terms.
University of California breaks up with major publisher over research access dispute [STAT] UC wanted to change the payment structure to roll the subscription fee and the open-access fees into a single annual payment — which would come at an overall discount. That would have made open access “the default” for any article published by a UC researcher, the university system said in its statement. But Elsevier balked at the proposed terms.
	6.7.1 IA/BIOINFORMATIQUE
AI will not solve health care challenges now, but there are innovative alternatives, researcher writes [Stanford] Imagine a self-driving car attempting to navigate a traffic jam in New Delhi, India — horns blaring, drivers yelling, vehicles big and small careening in all directions. That’s an apt metaphor for the challenge faced by artificial intelligence in primary care, writes Nirav Shah, MD, in a new commentary for the Annals of Internal Medicine.
	6.9 CONTROVERSES
Update on NIH’s efforts to address sexual harassment in science [NIH] There is still a tremendous amount of work to be done, and we are confident that these two groups, with the input of all affected communities, will provide a roadmap for meaningful and sustainable culture change.
National Institutes of Health apologizes for lack of action on sexual harassers [Science] In a lengthy statement from NIH leaders, replete with language unusually contrite and passionate for a federal agency, NIH says it “has been part of the problem” and vows to take new steps, but does not list any immediate policy changes.