Onco Actu du 15 avril 2019

	2. ETIOLOGIE
Six shocking animal cancer facts [Sanger Institute] Some creatures never get cancer, while others can catch it from the sea. Find out more in our list of things you never knew about cancer in the wild.
	2.6 ETIOLOGIE - ENVIRONNEMENT
Bayer says to comply with court mediation order in glyphosate case [Reuters] “The parties should propose a mediator in their case management statement; if they cannot agree, the Court will appoint someone,” the judge ordered, cancelling a previously scheduled May 20 trial date.
	2.7 ETIOLOGIE - OBÉSITÉ
The disturbing links between too much weight and several types of cancer [Washington Post] Being overweight or obese — long implicated in heart disease and diabetes — is now associated with getting at least 13 types of cancer.
	3.1.1 PRÉVENTION - TABAC - E-CIGS
Rite Aid to Stop Selling E-Cigarettes, Citing Surge in Young Users [NY Times] Rite Aid said Thursday that it would remove the products from its more than 2,400 stores over the next 90 days. The chain will continue to sell regular tobacco products, a decision that some public health advocates criticized.
	3.3 PRÉVENTION - VACCINS
The HPV vaccine is important for preteens and teenagers. What about older women? [Washington Post] A doctor explores the pros and cons of a 45-year-old getting the shots against a disease that can cause cervical, oral and anal cancers.
	5. TRAITEMENTS
New cancer therapies offer great hope, but there can be suprising complications [Washington Post] An oncologist says the pace of change in treatment has been staggering, but for many patients, chemo is still right.
Treatment of Metastatic Urothelial Cancer in 2018 [JAMA Oncology] Why do we have 5 treatment agents approved, with a huge investment, and only 1 showing a survival advantage in a limited percentage of patients?
	5.12 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES
Cancers ‘change spots’ to avoid immunotherapy [Institute of Cancer Research] Researchers found that they could test samples from patients with bowel cancer to identify which were most likely to respond to immunotherapy by assessing molecular changes within miniature tumours grown in the laboratory. Using the mini tumours, the researchers identified existing drugs that could potentially be used in combination with immunotherapy to make it work for many more patients.
	5.12.6 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - AMM
Keytruda continues its lung cancer land grab with another FDA nod [Fierce Pharma] Compared with solo chemo, Keytruda cut the risk of death by 31% in those with PD-L1 levels of 50 or higher. But the benefit clearly diminished as the population expanded into the other groups. In patients with a TPS score of 20 or more, Keytruda cut death risks by 23%, and in all study patients, the survival benefit amounted to 19%.
Keytruda widens reach in lung cancer with new approval [Biopharma Dive] In 2016, Keytruda was the first anti-PD-1 therapy to secure U.S. approval as a first-line treatment for metastatic NSCLC. The immunotherapy is currently under investigation in more than 950 clinical trials across different cancers and lines of therapy.
	5.12.8 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - ECONOMIE
Medicare Aims to Expand Coverage of Cancer Care. But Is It Enough? [NY Times] Cancer patients, doctors and drug companies are urging the Trump administration to remove the restrictions and broaden coverage so more patients can benefit from the treatment, known as CAR T cell therapy, or CAR-T. But insurance companies are pushing for the restrictions.
	5.2 PHARMA
Clovis shutters PhII Rubraca study after data monitors turn thumbs down on efficacy [EndPoints] The DMC suggested researchers stop recruiting new patients and Clovis decided to terminate it altogether. Safety, the company added in the SEC filing, was not a factor.
Clovis Oncology halts mid-stage bladder cancer trial, shares drop [Reuters] Rubraca belongs to a new class of cancer drugs called PARP-inhibitors, which work by blocking enzymes involved in repairing damaged DNA of cancer cells, thereby helping to kill them.
	5.2.2 PHARMA - FUSIONS & ACQUISITIONS
Thumbs-up on $74B BMS-Celgene deal ends months of activist outrage [Fierce Pharma] The pipeline includes six near-term products that together could bring in $15 billion in revenues, the company says, including luspatercept for beta thalassemia, a CAR-T treatment for multiple myeloma, and ozanimod to treat multiple sclerosis.
The Bristol-Celgene merger is approved. Here are 8 challenges ahead [STAT] Like Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross in the last scene of “The Graduate,” the two biopharma newlyweds got what they wanted, and now they’ll have to get used to one another’s idiosyncrasies. That means navigating a patent cliff, dealing with rough market dynamics, and trying to keep key employees from updating their résumés.
	5.3.4 TRAITEMENTS - AMM (FDA, EMA,...)
J&J wins FDA OK for first targeted therapy in bladder cancer [Biopharma Dive] A Phase 3 study testing Balversa against chemotherapy or Keytruda (pembrolizumab) is currently enrolling, with a target completion date of November 2020. By then, Balversa may have company, at least as FGFR inhibitors go.
QIAGEN launches first FDA-approved companion diagnostic using FGFR alterations to help guide the treatment of metastatic urothelial cancer [Quiagen] Novel therascreen® FGFR RGQ RT-PCR Kit will aid in identifying patients eligible for treatment with BALVERSA™ (erdafitinib), developed by Janssen.
BALVERSA™ (erdafitinib) Receives U.S. FDA Approval for the Treatment of Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma with Certain FGFR Genetic Alterations [Janssen] Simultaneous approval of companion diagnostic intended to identify a subset of patients most likely to benefit from BALVERSA, offering a personalized treatment approach.
J&J nabs accelerated FDA OK for one of their top late-stage drugs [EndPoints] The FDA blessed this therapy with its breakthrough designation a little more than a year ago, helping to speed it through the review process.
Johnson & Johnson wins U.S. FDA approval for bladder cancer drug [Reuters] The list price of the drug, known chemically as erdafitinib, will range between $10,080 to $22,680 for a 28-day supply, depending of the dose, J&J said.
FDA grants accelerated approval to erdafitinib for metastatic urothelial carcinoma [FDA] Erdafitinib approval was based on data from a cohort of 87 patients enrolled on Study BLC2001 (NCT02365597), a multicenter, open-label, single-arm trial.
	5.4 TRAITEMENTS - ECONOMIE
Two targeted lung cancer drugs get initial ‘no’ for NHS in England [Cancer Research UK] The two drugs – dacomitinib (Vizimpro) and osimertinib (Tagrisso) – were each being considered as initial treatments for patients whose non small cell lung cancer had begun to spread to other parts of the body. Patients’ cancers cells would also need to test positive for a certain molecule, called EGFR.
	5.9.9 AACR - IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES
AACR Annual Meeting 2019: PD-1 Pandemonium [Cancer Research Catalyst] Pazdur’s first two questions to the industry representatives highlighted the pandemonium in the field: Are your immune checkpoint inhibitors “really the same drug?” he asked. Followed by, “Do we just have too many of these same drugs here?”
	6. LUTTE CONTRE LES CANCERS
Dr. Robert Hickman, inventor of the Hickman catheter, dies at 92 [Fred Hutch] In the 1970s, Hickman was a founding member of the transplant team at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that pioneered the Nobel-Prize winning treatment. His contribution to that effort: The lifesaving device that bears his name and is still used worldwide to deliver IV nutrition, draw blood and deliver chemotherapy.
Reducing social inequalities in cancer: evidence and priorities for research [IARC] The publication, based on the expert knowledge of more than 70 international scientists from multiple disciplines, undertakes a populations-within-populations approach, highlighting the large variations in cancer incidence, survival, and mortality that exist between countries and, within countries, between social groups.
	6.1 OBSERVATION
Top cancer hospitals' outcomes may be better than affiliates' [Reuters] “For complex cancer surgery in general you have 1.4 times higher odds of not surviving the surgery at an affiliate compared to the top-ranked hospital itself.”
	6.7 DMP, BIG DATA & APPLIS
FAIR Data, A Fair Desiderata [Bio-IT World] The principles of FAIR data—Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability—seek to improve the way data are collected and stored with the goal of preserving datasets from original research while allowing them to be reused or combined in novel ways.
	6.9 CONTROVERSES
Health care needs less #innovation [STAT] Part of the hashtag innovation trend in health care reflects a broader cultural phenomenon lionizing what’s new and shiny. Too often the question isn’t how do we fix this problem? but rather how can we use this technology?