Onco Actu du 29 mars 2019

	1. BIOLOGIE
Inflammation and cancer: unravelling a 150-year-old mystery [Cancer Research UK] Knowing that cancers linked to inflammation, such as oesophageal and lung cancer, are among those hardest to treat, we’ve dedicated £20 million as part of our Grand Challenge scheme to uncover the root cause.
	1.4 BIOLOGIE - TECHNOS
New Consortium Outlines Vision for Pediatric Cell Atlas, Seeks Funding for Effort [Genome Web] The researchers therefore believe that the PCA could serve as a reference tool for future pediatric research. Their hope is that the availability of such data will support insights into birth defects, developmental delay, metabolic problems, and pediatric cancers, and guide future treatments.
	3.1 PRÉVENTION - TABAC
Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on actions to advance our comprehensive plan to reduce tobacco-related disease and death, through new efforts to improve the tobacco product application review process, including a newly proposed rule [FDA] Today, we’re announcing several new actions as part of our commitment to ensure sound regulatory oversight of tobacco products and an effective application review process that considers the impact on public health.
	3.7 PRÉVENTION - ALCOOL
When it comes to cancer, how does alcohol compare to smoking? [Institute of Cancer Research] Communicating cancer risk by putting alcohol consumption in the context of smoking might not be perfect, but it’s a more tangible example that the majority of the general public can understand.
Cigarettes and alcohol: should we be communicating cancer risk in terms of cigarettes smoked? [Cancer Research UK] “If cigarette-equivalents were to be used to communicate the cancer risk of alcohol consumption, it is vital that their impact is properly evaluated to check they do not produce unreasonable concern.”
	4. DÉPISTAGE, DIAGNOSTIC ET PRONOSTIC
Screening for ‘hidden’ pancreatic cancer can put people in jeopardy [STAT] It’s tempting to want to do something, particularly when a celebrity develops a bad disease. But don’t call for early detection, call for better treatment. And call for more acceptance: recognizing that good people — doing all the right things — can nevertheless develop bad diseases.
	4.10 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - POUMON
Lung cancer: diagnosis and management [NICE] This guideline covers diagnosing and managing non-small-cell and small-cell lung cancer. It aims to improve outcomes for patients by ensuring that the most effective tests and treatments are used, and that people have access to suitable palliative care and follow-up.
	4.12 BIOPSIES LIQUIDES
Promising to match more NSCLC patient with targeted drugs, Cambridge spinout Inivata readies US launch of liquid biopsy [EndPoints] Inivata’s InVisionFirst test, in contrast, is designed to hunt down “tiny, tiny little pieces of” circulating tumor DNA in blood and look for all types of genetic alterations, from insertions, deletions and single nucleotide variations to gene fusions and translocations.
	4.2 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - GÉNOME
A more accurate method to diagnose cancer subtypes [Garvan Institute] Developed by researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, this potential diagnostic method screens a cancer sample for ‘fusion genes’, estimated to be linked to one in five cancers, and may provide a more accurate snapshot of rearranged DNA found in cancer.
	5.10 TRAITEMENTS - ESSAIS
Unreported trial of the week: Adjuvant hormonal therapy in surgically treated prostate cancer patients at high risk for recurrence (NCT00003645) [BMJ] This unreported trial was sponsored by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, USA.
Combo Better for HR+ Breast Cancer Patients [SWOG] Women with metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer live longer when they receive a combination of two anti-estrogen drugs, fulvestrant and anastrozole, compared with treatment with anastrozole alone, according to results of a SWOG Cancer Research Network study appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine.
	5.12 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES
New drugs that unleash the immune system on cancers may backfire, fueling tumor growth [Science] Scientists are still debating how, and whether, drugs called checkpoint inhibitors trigger tumor "hyperprogression".
Harnessing T-cell “stemness” could enhance cancer immunotherapy [NIH] The research team demonstrated that when they used specific drugs to mimic potassium’s effects on T cells in mice, this improved the T cells’ ability to continue to grow and eliminate tumors. This means that such a drug could potentially be used to induce stemness in T cells as a strategy to enhance cancer immunotherapies.
	5.12.2 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - CAR-T, THÉRAPIES CELLULAIRES
Heating up tumors could make CAR T therapy more effective, study finds [UCLA] The researchers found that when a heating technique called photothermal ablation was combined with the infusion of CAR T cells, it suppressed melanoma tumor growth for up to 20 days in mice.
Precision Bio wants to show there’s a better way to edit genes — and now it has $126M in IPO cash to prove it [EndPoints] Precision’s first CAR-T therapy will aim to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma by engineering the donor T cells to target CD19.
	5.12.6 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - AMM
Atezolizumab Approved for Some Patients with Triple-Negative Breast Cancer [NCI] The combination therapy is the first FDA-approved regimen for breast cancer to include immunotherapy.
	5.12.7 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - VACCINS
Elicio Therapeutics aims to sneak cancer vaccines into the lymph nodes, with $30M to launch [Fierce Biotech] Its “Amphiphile” platform includes molecules that mimic fatty acids, letting them hitchhike on the large albumin proteins that drain into the body’s lymphatic system. This allows them to avoid getting swept away in the bloodstream, so they can deliver immunogens that signal T cells to a therapeutic response.
	5.12.8 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - ECONOMIE
AstraZeneca's Imfinzi gets a lift in lung cancer from England's cost watchdogs [Fierce Pharma] Meanwhile, elsewhere in the lung cancer arena, Imfinzi hasn’t fared as well. Last year, it confirmed investors' worst fears by failing to extend survival in previously untreated non-small cell lung cancer patients, immuno-oncology’s largest market.
Months after Imfinzi combo flops, AstraZeneca wins NICE endorsement as lung cancer monotherapy [EndPoints] The drug is administered as an intravenous infusion every two weeks, until disease progression or for up to 12 months. A 500 mg vial has a list price of £2,466 but under NICE’s agreement AstraZeneca will provide it to the NHS at a confidential discounted price.
Promising lung cancer treatment approved for Cancer Drugs Fund [NICE] The committee agreed that it was plausible that between 27% and 40% of people taking durvalumab would have 5 years of progression-free survival. The committee concluded that durvalumab had the potential to be cost-effective for NHS use, but that there was a high level of uncertainty in clinical evidence surrounding it.
Lung cancer immunotherapy approved for NHS patients in England [Cancer Research UK] The treatment (durvalumab), which reawakens the patient’s immune system, will be available via the Cancer Drugs Fund while more data is collected on its long-term effectiveness.
	5.2 PHARMA
Seattle Genetics and Astellas Announce Positive Topline Results from Pivotal Trial of Enfortumab Vedotin in Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Cancer [Seattle Genetics] Companies Plan to Submit Biologics License Application Later This Year.
Key bladder cancer data pave way for Seattle Genetics to submit marketing application for armed antibody [EndPoints] Enfortumab vedotin (EV) targets Nectin-4, a cell adhesion molecule identified as an ADC target by Astellas. The experimental ADC is also being tested for use in newly diagnosed patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer in combination with Keytruda and/or platinum chemotherapy.
	5.2.1 PHARMA - PARTENARIATS
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Concerto HealthAI Announce Strategic Agreement to Broaden Uses of Real-World Evidence and Accelerate Precision Oncology Innovations [Concerto HealthAI] Bristol-Myers Squibb will use Concerto HealthAI’s Real-World Data and novel AI insights platform, eurekaHealth™, to accelerate insights through novel health economic outcomes and clinical development synthetic control arm studies.
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo enter collaboration for novel HER2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate [AstraZeneca] Companies to accelerate and expand development of trastuzumab deruxtecan across breast and other cancers, with the potential to redefine standard of care.
AstraZeneca CEO Soriot bets up to $7B on a major league collaboration for a game-changing HER2 cancer drug [EndPoints] The deal is possible because after 6 years, Soriot has finally gained credibility in claiming a turnaround after a lengthy period of falling numbers. And he owes that to the success of Lynparza and Tagrisso and to a certain extent the PD-L1 checkpoint Imfinzi.
AstraZeneca could pay Daiichi Sankyo up to $6.9 billion in cancer drug deal [Reuters] AstraZeneca Plc and Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd signed a deal to develop and sell Daiichi’s cancer drug trastuzumab deruxtecan that could see the British drugmaker pay as much as $6.9 billion to its Japanese partner.
	5.3 TRAITEMENTS - FDA, EMA, NICE...
US Food and Drug Administration Approval of New Drugs Based on Noninferiority Trials in Oncology - A Dangerous Precedent? [JAMA Oncology] Regulatory authorities should not approve oncology drugs on the basis of results of noninferiority trials unless the noninferiority design is appropriately justified, and those justifications should be publicized after approval. In those cases, the noninferiority margin should be predefined by the regulatory agency with the help of an independent group of clinical experts and direct patient involvement.
	6.1 OBSERVATION
Gum Disease and Tooth Loss Associated With Higher Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in African-American Women [AACR] Palmer pointed out that pancreatic cancer is a rare disease, and even in a large study population, only 78 cases were diagnosed. The small sample size did not allow stratification of cases beyond smoking status.
	6.7.3 DMP
ASCO Submits Comment Letter on Recent Senate Hearing on Electronic Health Information [ASCO] The mCODE set of data elements is envisioned by ASCO to form the basis of an initial parsimonious set of necessary data that should populate all electronic health records (EHRs) serving patients with cancer. Adoption of these data elements, which are being developed by experts in the fields of oncology and informatics, would greatly streamline the exchange of basic needed data necessary for oncologists.