Onco Actu du 1er juillet 2019

	1. BIOLOGIE
No tumour is an island [Cancer Research UK] Research has uncovered many of the genetic drivers that propel a tumour along a malignant pathway. But the evolution of cancer also depends on interactions between a tumour and its host.
	3.1 PRÉVENTION - TABAC
India asks its states not to partner with Philip Morris-funded foundation [Reuters] India’s health ministry has asked all state governments in the country not to partner with the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW) because of its links to tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc (PM.N), a letter seen by Reuters showed.
	3.1.1 PRÉVENTION - TABAC - E-CIGS
San Francisco vape ban could hinder war on tobacco, say UK experts [The Guardian] “Alcohol, smoked tobacco, cannabis, smoking or vaping – all of them are legal but the least harmful is e-cigarettes and they’ve banned them. Not just sales to young people, which we’ve done in this country, but for adults too. That is particularly difficult to understand.”
Teen vaping on the rise in U.S, Canada [Reuters] The proportion of teens who said they had vaped in the previous 30 days rose in Canada from 8.4% in July-August 2017 to 14.6 % in August-September 2018, and in the U.S. from 11.1% to 16.2% while remaining stable at just under 9% in the UK.
	3.3 PRÉVENTION - VACCINS
Let’s End HPV-related Cancers: A Congressional Briefing [Cancer Research Catalyst] Giuliano explained that in public health, “control” refers to reducing incidence of a certain disease to a more moderate level. Cervical cancer offers a rare chance at “elimination” of a cancer, which she described as “getting to near zero in a given area.”
	3.3.2 PRÉVENTION - VACCINS (OBSERVATION)
HPV vaccination works. Period. [Respectful Insolence] All evidence to this point strongly supports the conclusion that it prevents HPV-caused cancers, the most prominent of which is cervical cancer. Antivaxers can claim otherwise, but science does not support them. HPV vaccination works.
	4.7 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - COL DE L'UTÉRUS
Fake news putting 50,000 lesbian, gay and bisexual women at risk of cancer [NHS England] Analysis of data from the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Foundation has revealed that nearly one in five – 19% – of LGB women who are eligible for cervical screening has never been to an appointment.
Lesbian women cervical screening myth is 'dangerous' [BBC News] "The misleading information that gay and bisexual women aren't at risk of this disease is one of the most dangerous myths around, because it has created a screening gap for thousands, which is a major concern for our community."
	4.9 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - SEIN
Competing Breast Cancer Assays Beat Genomic Health's Oncotype Dx in Canadian Cost Modeling Study [Genome Web] Study authors wrote that they believe their study represents the first "comprehensive and independent cost-effectiveness analysis" of this kind "using different available assays compared head-to-head.
	5.10 TRAITEMENTS - ESSAIS
Two-in-one drug combining Herceptin with chemotherapy keeps women’s breast cancers at bay [Institute of Cancer Research] The new study, led by researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, assessed the new treatment in patients for the first time, linking together the chemotherapy agent duocarmazine with trastuzumab – also known as Herceptin – which recognises the HER2 protein.
Basket Cases: How Real-World Testing for Drugs Approved Based on Basket Trials Might Lead to False Diagnoses, Patient Risks, and Squandered Resources [Journal of Clinical Oncology] The promise of precision medicine is that it will offer patients with cancer customized care and better outcomes on the basis of their unique genetic profile. We must balance this optimism with a commitment to understanding the limitations of clinical application of testing and treatment in practice.
	5.12.6 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - AMM
CHMP recommends EU approval of Roche’s Tecentriq in combination with Abraxane as an initial treatment for people with PD-L1-positive, metastatic triple-negative breast cancer [Roche] Recommendation based on the results of IMpassion130 study in triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive type of breast cancer with high unmet medical need.
EMA Recommends Extension of Indications for Atezolizumab [ESMO] New indication concerns combination treatment with nab-paclitaxel for unresectable locally advanced or metastatic TNBC.
	5.2.2 PHARMA - FUSIONS & ACQUISITIONS
Seducing Pfizer: How Array’s team patiently worked up the ladder to win an $11.4B bid from Albert Bourla [EndPoints] Array BioPharma CEO Ron Squarer and his top team spent well over 2 years scouting for someone to buy the company. And at the end of that lengthy search process a few days ago, the CEO placed the company in Pfizer’s hands for $11.4 billion and will now walk away from his sales effort with a fortune worth $124.7 million for stock and $85.2 million to cover the golden parachute.
	5.2.3 PHARMA - ÉCONOMIE
Sequencing Firm Adaptive’s $300M IPO Comes With Pharma Ambitions [Xconomy] Doctors use Adaptive’s tests to monitor patients for recurrent cancer, and drug companies use them in their research and clinical trials. But Adaptive wants its own pharma business, too.
	5.3 TRAITEMENTS - FDA, EMA, NICE...
Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 24-27 June 2019 [EMA] An informed consent applicationsreceived a positive opinion from the CHMP: Azacitidine Celgene (azacitidine), for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes, chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia and acute myeloid leukemia. Other extensions of indication recommended by the Committee were for Cyramza, Dupixent, Ebymect, Edistride, Fiasp, Flebogamma DIF, Forxiga, Imbruvica, Tecentriq, Xigduo and Zinforo.
	5.3.4 TRAITEMENTS - AMM (FDA, EMA,...)
J&J's Darzalex pads blockbuster sales with another myeloma nod in new patients [Fierce Pharma] Despite already having leapt ahead of competitors and registered blockbuster sales—Darzelex pulled in $2.62 billion in 2018—J&J isn’t planning to stop there.
Pfizer Receives U.S. FDA Approval for Its Oncology Biosimilar, ZIRABEV™ (bevacizumab-bvzr) [Pfizer] The FDA approval was based on review of a comprehensive data package which demonstrated biosimilarity of ZIRABEV to the reference product. This includes results from the REFLECTIONS B7391003 clinical comparative study, which showed clinical equivalence and found no clinically meaningful differences between ZIRABEV and the reference product in patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC.
Another Biosimilar Approval From FDA, Another Unknown Launch Date [RAPS] Overall, just one-third of biosimilars approved by FDA have launched, and for many of them the date of launch has not been announced publicly.
Pfizer's Avastin biosimilar wins FDA approval [Reuters] Roche has been facing declining sales for its three leading cancer drugs - Avastin, Herceptin, Rituxan - due to severe competition in Europe from low-cost versions called biosimilars.
FDA approves daratumumab for multiple myeloma ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant [FDA] Approval was based on MAIA (NCT02252172), an open-label, randomized (1:1), active-controlled phase 3 study, comparing dartumumab (16 mg/kg) in combination with lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone (DRd) to lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone (Rd), in 737 patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who were ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant.
	6. LUTTE CONTRE LES CANCERS
ASCO Commends the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for its Report on Guiding Cancer Control [ASCO] As the report notes, stakeholders in the cancer community must work together to drive innovation and solve big, systemic problems that impede patient access to high-quality care. ASCO is working to fulfill that need in a number of ways.
National Cancer Control Efforts Should Address the System, Not Its Individual Parts, Says New Report [National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine] The report recommends a national strategy for cancer control, based on the principles of systems engineering, to coordinate the priorities and actions of multiple stakeholders, improve resource integration, and promote joint accountability.
	6.1 OBSERVATION
The first complete picture of how long it takes to diagnose cancer in England [Cancer Research UK] The average time for a diagnosis of bowel or lung cancer following a routine GP referral was 61 and 69 days respectively, according to this study. But 1 in 4 people diagnosed with bowel cancer in this way waited at least 102 days. This grew to 126 days for those with lung cancer.
	6.10.1 POLITIQUES (USA)
Student loan borrowers with cancer are supposed to get a break from their bills. That’s not happening [CNBC] President Trump signed a bill last September allowing people with cancer to press pause on their federal student loan payments throughout their medical treatment and then for six months afterward. More than nine months after the law took effect, borrowers still can’t get the cancer deferment.
	6.11 PATIENTS
Luis Alvarez, Champion of 9/11 Responders, Dies at 53 [NY Times] A former New York City police officer, he developed cancer 16 years after spending three months seeking survivors and victims’ remains in Lower Manhattan in 2001.
	6.12 ETHIQUE
Pounds for Patients? How the private hospital sector uses financial incentives to win the business of medical consultants. [Center for Health and the Public Interest] The consultants who own shares and equipment in the private hospitals also carry out work in them and receive a fee for doing so. In some cases, the consultants receive a fee each time their equipment is used. This is a very small proportion of the total number of medical consultants.
NHS oncologists are being offered shares in private hospitals. This must stop [The Guardian] There are now more than 600 mainly NHS consultants who also own shares or equipment in private hospitals and who stand to benefit personally from the financial performance of the hospital where they treat their patients.
	6.7 DMP, BIG DATA & APPLIS
Once 'bodies for hire,' CROs are finding a new role as data specialists [Biopharma Dive] "CROs are going to have to evolve to survive," Deloitte's Anderson said. "The big players, the Apples, the Verilys, the Amazons, all have incredible technology capabilities around data. Those perhaps could be the new players in the future."
New programme to explore how innovation in health data can benefit everyone [Wellcome Trust] To ensure everyone can benefit from health data innovation, Wellcome is investing £75 million in a five-year programme on data for science and health.