Onco Actu du 21 juin 2019

	1. BIOLOGIE
Cancer genes help deer antlers grow [Science] “Deer antlers are using essentially a controlled form of bone cancer growth,” says Edward Davis, an evolutionary paleobiologist at the University of Oregon in Eugene who was not involved with the work. The involvement of the tumor-promoting genes isn’t surprising, he says; what’s surprising is the involvement of the cancer-controlling genes.
God doesn’t play dice. Does cancer? [University of Colorado] “What was really striking to us is that if you normalize all the cancer incidences, they all fall on top of each other – for different cancers that require such a different number of drivers and that arise from stem cell pools that range thousands of times in size, incidence is the same across age,” says CU Cancer Center Deputy Director, James DeGregori, PhD. “What this means is that, mathematically, one cannot account for carcinogenesis simply with mutation accumulation over age.”
	1.4 BIOLOGIE - TECHNOS
A chemical approach to imaging cells from the inside [Broad Institute] Researchers develop a new microscopy system for creating maps of cells, using chemical reactions to encode spatial information.
A new ‘DNA microscope’ peers deep inside living cells [STAT] Almost unheard of in this era of collaborations that are often larger than a soccer team, Weinstein, a postdoctoral fellow, worked virtually alone at the lab bench, advised by the Broad’s Aviv Regev and Feng Zhang. The Broad has applied for a patent on the invention.
Researchers use DNA to take pictures of cells [Science] New microscopy technique could let scientists study tumors and our brains.
DNA Microscope Sees ‘Through the Eyes of the Cell’ [NY Times] “DNA microscopy captures both genetic and spatial information simultaneously,” said Joshua Weinstein, a postdoctoral researcher at the Broad Institute of M.I.T. and Harvard and the lead author of the paper. “That’s what’s really beautiful about it.”
	2. ETIOLOGIE
Inflammatory Mechanisms May Underlie Increased Risk of Prostate Cancer Among World Trade Center Responders [AACR] “In our study, both the archived human prostate cancer tissues of 9/11 responders and the prostates of rats experimentally exposed to World Trade Center dust showed an increase in pro-inflammatory cell types,” noted Taioli. “This finding represents the first mechanistic link between exposure to World Trade Center dust and prostate cancer.”
	2.5 ETIOLOGIE - GÈNES
Which Genetic Syndromes Can Increase a Child’s Risk of Cancer? [Dana-Farber Cancer Institute] Inherited cancers account for at least 5 to 10 percent of all pediatric cancers. The same advances in technology that have enabled scientists to decode the human genome now allow doctors to determine when a child has been born with an error (mutation) in a specific gene that puts them at increased risk of childhood cancer. Researchers have identified over 100 genes that can cause specific cancer predisposition syndromes if a mutation is present.
	4. DÉPISTAGE, DIAGNOSTIC ET PRONOSTIC
Improving Cancer Diagnosis and Care [National Academies Press] The first workshop focused on patient access to expertise and technologies in oncologic imaging and pathology and was held in February 2018. The second workshop, conducted in collaboration with the Board on Mathematical Sciences and Analytics, was held in October 2018 to examine the use of multidimensional data derived from patients with cancer, and the computational methods that analyze these data to inform cancer treatment decisions.
	4.11 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - OVAIRE
New biomarker test improves diagnosis of ovarian cancer [Uppsala University] In the study, that was recently published in Communications Biology, the researchers have developed a biomarker test based on analysis of 11 proteins. The test, which is performed on a blood sample, is used where ultrasound has indicated abnormalities to identify women without cancer.
	4.12 BIOPSIES LIQUIDES
Sweden's Saga Diagnostics Eyes Clinical Oncology Space With Ultrasensitive Mutation Detection Method [Genome Web] The Lund-based firm claims that its technology, enabled by digital PCR (dPCR) and the company's proprietary chemistry, can detect circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) with a mutational allele frequency (MAF) of 0.001 percent.
	4.3 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - INDUSTRIELS
German Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) Issues Exclusive Nationwide Reimbursement Decision for Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score® Test [Genomic Health] Reimbursement Decision Follows IQWiG's Recommendation Based on TAILORx Study Results.
	5. TRAITEMENTS
Study: More aggressive treatments needed to improve 5-year survival rate for glioblastoma [Mayo Clinic] A study to be published next month in Mayo Clinic Proceedings finds that little has changed in terms of five-year survival — only 5.5% of patients live for five years after diagnosis — and calls for more aggressive treatments to be considered for all glioblastoma patients.
	5.10 TRAITEMENTS - ESSAIS
The Need for Clinical Trial Navigators [NY Times] Fewer than 5 percent of cancer patients participate in research that could improve care. Navigators could help patients find the right studies.
	5.12.2 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - CAR-T, THÉRAPIES CELLULAIRES
'Living drug' offers hope to terminal blood cancer patients [BBC News] The therapy, called CAR-T, is a "living drug" that is tailor-made for each patient using their body's own cells Doctors at King's College Hospital, London, said some patients were being completely cured in a way that had "never been seen before".
	5.12.5 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PHARMA
Is there life beyond Keytruda? Merck makes its case in first investor event in 5 years [Fierce Pharma] Still, there was that nagging question about life beyond Keytruda. Roger Perlmutter, president of Merck Research Laboratories, took the stage and told the crowd that the company’s R&D operation offered an “enormously stable platform” for continuing to pump out hit drugs.
'Our legacy matters': Merck maps out Keytruda kingdom while spotlighting advances in vaccines, hospital care [EndPoints] The massive network of trials centered around Keytruda has pushed over the 1,000 mark, Baynes, the head of clinical development, said, with more than 100 in earlier lines of therapy (before or right after surgery), upwards of 600 combinations, and 75 registrational studies underway.
	5.2 PHARMA
Can Stivarga crack the code? Bayer hunts for rare glioblastoma nod with 'Big 5' contender [Fierce Pharma] If Stivarga (regorafenib) is successful in roping a notoriously difficult approval in glioblastoma, it could help the drug break out of colorectal and liver cancer markets steeped in blockbuster competitors.
	5.4 TRAITEMENTS - ECONOMIE
You can’t pay for 21st century medicines with a 20th century payment system [STAT] Creative models to finance over time, reimbursing for results, and reinsurance options that help payers hedge against high upfront costs are all features we should consider in a 21st-century payment system.
	6. LUTTE CONTRE LES CANCERS
Federally funded research drives nearly one-third of U.S. patents, report finds [STAT] The authors of the new study, published Thursday in Science, examined millions of U.S. patents granted between 1926 and 2017, as well as related papers and reports, to glean which ones were supported by federal funding: patents owned by the government, those acknowledging federal support, and those that directly cite patents or papers acknowledging such support.
	6.1 OBSERVATION
Nearly 5.4 Million Cancer Survivors Suffer Chronic Pain [ACS] Overall, 1,648 of the 4,526 cancer survivors identified in the survey (34.6%) reported having chronic pain; 768 of the survivors (16.1%) reported having high impact chronic pain. Applied to the nation as a whole, those rates equal approximately 5.39 million and 2.51 million cancer survivors, respectively, in the U.S.
	6.10.1 POLITIQUES (USA)
Merck CEO sees legal challenge if U.S. adopts drug pricing based on other countries [Reuters] “We tell incomplete stories about those markets,” Frazier said, noting that some countries ration treatments available to patients. He pointed to lower survival rates for lung cancer in Britain, which has an agency that can bar the use of approved new medicines based on their cost.
	6.6 PUBLICATIONS
Hilda Bastian: Should we trust meta-analyses with meta conflicts of interest? [BMJ] Systematic reviewers and meta-analysts are widely seen as arbiters on the state of knowledge. This influence makes conflict of interest an acute issue for them in general. Yet as well as the usual author conflicts, they can have a type of potential conflict that’s totally meta and unique to them: being an author of the very studies they are choosing and weighing up.