Onco Actu du 20 juin 2019

	2.10 ETIOLOGIE - ALCOOL
Many women unaware of the link between alcohol and breast cancer [NHS Choices] One interpretation of these findings is health professionals should take the opportunity to explain the cancer-related risks of alcohol when women attend breast screening (or similar) appointments.
	2.5 ETIOLOGIE - GÈNES
Diverse Population GWAS Delivers Distinct Disease, Trait Associations [Genome Web] For the new set of GWAS, collaborators at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Inherited Disease Research used Illumina's Multi-Ethnic Genotyping Array to genotype 49,839 participants: a group that included 22,216 individuals who self-identified as Hispanic/Latino; 17,299 African Americans; 4,680 Asians; 3,940 Native Hawaiian participants; and 652 individuals who identified as Native American. The remaining 1,052 individuals came from still other self-reported ancestral groups.
Lack of diversity in genetic research is risky [Fred Hutch] The lack of diversity in genetics research — recently called out in journals like Cell and covered on PBS — was highlighted again this week with a comprehensive multi-center analysis by a consortium of researchers, co-led by geneticists, epidemiologists and biostatisticians at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Their findings were published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
	3. PRÉVENTION
Looking to the future of breast cancer prevention [PHG Foundation] We found that although personalised prevention is a stated policy aspiration, there is very little consideration of how this would work in practice or practical examples available, especially for breast cancer.
	3.1.1 PRÉVENTION - TABAC - E-CIGS
AACR Takes Action Against the “Epidemic” of Youth E-cigarette Use [Cancer Research Catalyst] At the briefing, Herbst, who is also the chief of Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center, talked about the delicate balance between keeping e-cigarettes away from youth and understanding that some adults use them to help quit smoking combustible products.
E-Cigarette Exploded in a Teenager’s Mouth, Damaging His Jaw [NY Times] Dr. Katie W. Russell, a pediatric surgeon at the University of Utah, and Dr. Micah Katz, a resident, part of the team who treated Austin, submitted the case, which was published on Wednesday, to The New England Journal of Medicine in an effort to warn the public about the dangers of vaping.
	4.5 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - COLORECTAL
Sedation Method Does Not Affect Colonoscopy Detection Rate [University of Missouri] Researchers conducted a retrospective study of 585 healthy average-risk patients who underwent either a moderate or deep sedation colonoscopy at the same MU Health Care outpatient center in 2015 or 2016.
	5. TRAITEMENTS
Game-changing cancer drugs which can attack all tumours will be fast-tracked by NHS [The Telegraph] Existing cancer drugs need to be approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for each individual type of cancer they treat such as breast or colon cancer. However, when approved, the new drugs would be available to treat all types of tumour without individual approval.
NHS to ‘fast track’ new personalised cancer medicines – but it’s not ready quite yet [Cancer Research UK] While these drugs might become an important option for some patients, the genetic variations targeted are a lot less common than the headlines suggest. And there’s plenty of work for the NHS to do before patients see the benefits of these new ‘tumour agnostic’ medicines – which is why Stevens announced that the NHS will be working with drug manufacturers in the coming months to get the NHS ready.
	5.1 TRAITEMENTS - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
Ro Versus Musashi: How One Molecule Can Turn Cancer Cells Back to Normal [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center] In Nature Communications, Dr. Kharas’s team reported that they have identified a molecule that appears to block the function of Musashi-2. This protein plays a role in making cancer grow and spread. The compound appears to eliminate tumor cells in human cancer cell lines and in mice.
An Ounce of Prevention: Preoperative Management of Inflammation May Stave Off Cancer Recurrences [Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center] This novel approach of blocking inflammation and/or accelerating the resolution of inflammation before a surgical procedure could also potentially benefit the more than 30 percent of patients who do not have cancer but harbor microscopic cancers – small clusters of cancer cells that don’t produce a growing tumor.
Human-on-a-chip Model Enables Simultaneous Testing of Cancer Drug Efficacy and Off-Target Toxicity to Enable Determination of Therapeutic Index [Hesperos] In vitro multi-organ system by Hesperos, Inc. realistically replicates the responses of cancer treatments and has potential to inform treatment decisions.  These findings, published in Science Translational Medicine, demonstrate the ability of a body-on-a-chip model to truly revolutionize biomedical research and personalized medicine through more accurate and efficient preclinical testing without the use of animal studies.
	5.12.10 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - FUSIONS ET ACQUISITIONS
Investor day prep at Merck includes a new strategy to pick up the pace on M&A — report [EndPoints] Both acquisitions mark a new strategy to beef up its dominant cancer drug operations centered on Keytruda while looking to address growing concerns that too many of its eggs are in the one I/O basket for their PD-1 program. And Merck is going after more small- and mid-sized buyouts to calm those fears.
	5.12.3 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES-COMBINAISONS
Oncolytics Bio Tacks On Cancer Combo Study with Merck KGaA, Pfizer [Xconomy] The agreement calls for the companies to conduct a Phase 2 trial testing pelareorep in combination with avelumab (Bavencio), an immunotherapy that Merck KGaA and Pfizer jointly developed. The biotech says pelareorep is designed to both kill cancer cells and—like other immuno-oncology therapies—activate the body’s immune system against cancer.
	5.12.8 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - ECONOMIE
A new number 1 drug? Keytruda tapped to top the 10 biggest blockbusters on the world stage by 2024 [EndPoints] By 2024 the Evaluate forecast puts Keytruda revenue at a whopping $17 billion, as it enjoys a hefty CAGR of 15.4%. That puts it on top of a big 10 list expected to bring in more than $100 billion in 5 years.
	5.2 PHARMA
Kymera rolls out new animal data on its lead protein-degradation drug to treat lymphoma [Fierce Biotech] KYM-001 is an oral drug that targets IRAK4, a protein that’s a key player in lymphomas that are driven by a mutation in the gene MYD88. In mouse models of lymphomas with the mutation, the drug prompted a 75% reduction in IRAK4 levels and tumor regression, according to a statement from the company.
Regorafenib to be tested in brain cancer patients in multi-arm cooperation trial [Bayer] GBM AGILE, an international platform trial sponsored by the Global Coalition for Adaptive Research (GCAR) to evaluate multiple therapies for patients with newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma, is now open for enrollment in the US with regorafenib as the first treatment arm.
Sanofi's John Reed continues to reorganize R&D, cutting 466 jobs while boosting cancer, gene therapy research [EndPoints] Immuno-oncology will get a boost in the realignment, along with biologics in general.
	5.2.1 PHARMA - PARTENARIATS
Gilead taps Nurix's protein degradation tech in $45M cancer pact [Fierce Biotech] Nurix’s drug discovery platform focuses on manipulating the ubiquitin system, which breaks down damaged or unneeded proteins. These proteins are tagged with ubiquitin—also a protein—and then sent to a protein complex called a proteasome, where it is degraded.
With $45M Nurix Deal, Gilead Enters Crowded Protein Degradation Field [Xconomy] Nurix is one of several companies—including Arvinas, Kymera Therapeutics, C4 Therapeutics, and several others—developing drugs that are meant to cause the proteasome, the body’s cellular garbage disposal, to get rid of problematic proteins.
Gilead and Nurix Establish Strategic Collaboration to Develop Novel Therapies for Cancer and Other Diseases [Gilead] Collaboration will Leverage Nurix’s Proprietary Drug Discovery Platform to Identify Novel Agents that Induce Degradation of Specified Drug Targets.
Gilead baits new alliance with $45M upfront, diving into the busy protein degradation field [EndPoints] The focus at Nurix, and now Gilead, is the ubiquitin system and key enzymes called E3 ligases. Protein degradation has proved a promising approach in oncology, attracting a group of players to the field.
	5.2.3 PHARMA - ÉCONOMIE
Distrust is frustrating U.K. NHS-industry cooperation: report [Fierce Biotech] The NHS Confederation, a membership body for U.K. health service providers, and pharma trade group ABPI put the report together by talking to people working in the NHS and in the drug industry. The talks identified hard and soft barriers to effective collaborations.
New study questions the need for 12 years of market exclusivity for biologics [EndPoints] The study found that of the 275 new drugs approved by the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) between 2007 and 2016 (77% were small-molecule drugs and 23% were biologics), median total development times—from first patent filing to FDA approval—were about 12 years for both types of products.
	5.4 TRAITEMENTS - ECONOMIE
Blinatumomab for treating acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in remission with minimal residual disease activity [NICE] Blinatumomab is recommended as an option for treating Philadelphiachromosome-negative CD19-positive B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in adults with minimal residual disease (MRD) of at least 0.1%, only if: - the disease is in first complete remission and - the company provides blinatumomab according to the commercial arrangement.
NICE U-turn opens up new treatment option for some adults with leukaemia [Cancer Research UK] Blinatumomab (Blincyto) – a drug used to treat adults with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia – has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for some patients, after being initially rejected for use in a larger group of patients in March 2019 due to a lack of evidence.
	5.5.3 ASCO (PROSTATE)
More Treatment Options Emerging for Some Men with Metastatic Prostate Cancer [NCI] The treatment landscape for metastatic prostate cancer is shifting and expanding yet again, according to new findings from two large clinical trials presented at the 2019 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
	6.10.1 POLITIQUES (USA)
Biden wants to cure cancer. Now Trump does, too. But cancer, like health care, is complicated [STAT] Biden’s “focus during his final year as vice president working on the cancer moonshot has had a monumental effect,” said Jon Retzlaff, the chief policy officer at the American Association for Cancer Research. “But curing the more than 200 diseases that we call cancer is not a realistic goal.”
	6.6 PUBLICATIONS
Unravelling the mysteries of preprints and peer review [Nature] A database assembles thousands of science journals’ editorial policies to boost transparency and accessibility.
	6.7.1 IA/BIOINFORMATIQUE
What if AI in health care is the next asbestos? [STAT] “I think of machine learning kind of as asbestos,” he said. “It turns out that it’s all over the place, even though at no point did you explicitly install it, and it has possibly some latent bad effects that you might regret later, after it’s already too hard to get it all out.”