Onco Actu du 29 juillet 2019

	2.11 ETIOLOGIE - ALIMENTATION
Do Lox and Other Smoked Fish Increase Cancer Risk? [NY Times] For now, according to a spokeswoman from the I.A.R.C., their answer to the question of whether eating smoked or cured fish affects cancer risk is “We don’t know.”
	3.1 PRÉVENTION - TABAC
WHO says e-cigarettes, 'smoke-free' products do not help reduce cancer [Reuters] It urged governments to make greater effort to introduce six key anti-tobacco measures it calls MPOWER, which include free services for people wanting to quit, protecting people from tobacco smoke, graphic danger warnings, higher tobacco taxes and advertising bans.
Battle against tobacco epidemic is far from won, WHO report finds [The Guardian] Dr Vinayak Prasad, head of the WHO’s tobacco control team, said there was cause for optimism despite the power of the tobacco industry. “We have a very solid opponent, but having said that if you look at the progress since the last report I haven’t seen any major rollbacks [of policies],” he said. “That is a huge win.”
WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic 2019 [WHO] The report, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, showed that while only 23 countries have implemented cessation support policies at the highest level, 116 more provide fully or partially cost-covered services in some or most health facilities, and another 32 offer services but do not cost-cover them, demonstrating a high level of public demand for support to quit.
	4.12 BIOPSIES LIQUIDES
Georgetown Technique Using Urine Suggests Individualized Bladder Cancer Treatment Possible [Georgetown University] This study, published as a “rapid report,” compares tumor biopsies from 70 patients with individual urine specimens, both processed through CR cultures (CRC). Primary cells isolated from urine and tumor samples both rapidly formed CRC and representative three-dimensional compact spheroids. The overall success rate of culturing urine CRC was about 84%.
	4.2 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - GÉNOME
Plans for paid-for NHS genome sequencing shelved [PHG Foundation] In a laudable policy decision to listen to concerns raised by the genomics community, plans for paying ‘genomic volunteers’ to receive NHS whole genome sequencing have been dropped.
	5. TRAITEMENTS
Tumour liquefying microbubbles: UK’s first convergent science centre officially launches [Cancer Research UK] Their shared vision for a centre dedicated to convergence science integrates the knowledge, methods and expertise from different scientific disciplines – from physics to data science, and from engineering and the biological sciences to medicine.
Tumour-liquifying microbubbles and immune cell tracking: UK’s first convergence science centre officially launches [Institute of Cancer Research] The Convergence Science Centre is supported through a £13 million award from Cancer Research UK, which is providing the funding to create step changes in cancer research to address unmet medical needs in all cancers, particularly those that are hard to treat.
	5.1 TRAITEMENTS - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
MIT “Russian Doll” tech lands $7.9M international award to fight brain tumors [MIT] Researchers from MIT will work with teams in the U.K. and Europe to use nanoparticles to carry multiple drug therapies to treat glioblastoma.
Microrobots Activated by Laser Pulses Show Promise For Treating Tumors [Caltech] At this stage, the spheres are capable of carrying drugs, but still lack the crucial ability to deliver them to a desired location. For that, Wang and Gao use photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT), a technique developed by Wang that uses pulses of infrared laser light.
	5.10 TRAITEMENTS - ESSAIS
Harms From Uninformative Clinical Trials [JAMA] The current clinical research enterprise has insufficient safeguards against uninformative clinical trials that do not fulfill the contract between researchers and research participants. Uninformative trials squander scarce resources, divert participants from better research, and dilute the evidence base of medicine.
	5.12.6 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - AMM
CHMP recommends EU approval of Roche’s Tecentriq in combination with chemotherapy as an initial treatment of adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer [Roche] Decision based on results from first Phase III study to show a cancer immunotherapy-based combination significantly improved overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in over 20 years.
Roche receives CHMP positive opinion for new Tecentriq-based combination therapy as an initial treatment for most common form of advanced lung cancer [Roche] Decision based on data showing that the Tecentriq plus chemotherapy combination demonstrated a significant overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) benefit in the first-line treatment of people with advanced, non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer.
	5.12.7 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - VACCINS
In Situ Vaccination: A Cancer Treatment a Century in the Making [The Scientist] Injecting immunostimulants directly into the tumor is not a new strategy to stimulate the immune system, but the approach has seen a surge of interest in recent years.
	5.2.3 PHARMA - ÉCONOMIE
Merck to build Gardasil 9 plant and add 425 jobs, but will cut 150 elsewhere [Fierce Pharma] The news also comes just a few weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices expanded its recommendation for Gardasil 9 to men and women aged 27 through 45 who aren’t adequately vaccinated.
	5.3.4 TRAITEMENTS - AMM (FDA, EMA,...)
Bayer receives positive CHMP opinion for precision oncology treatment larotrectinib with first ever tumor-agnostic indication in in Europe [Bayer] CHMP opinion is based on pooled data showing that larotrectinib provides high and durable responses in adult and pediatric patients with TRK fusion cancer, including CNS tumors.
European regulators back Bayer, GW drugs, but with caveats [Biopharma Dive] The committee, often referred to by its acronym CHMP, recommended conditional approval of Bayer's Vitrakvi, meaning the company will at some point need to provide additional data supporting the drug's efficacy.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Receives Positive CHMP Opinion Recommending Approval of Empliciti (elotuzumab) Plus Pomalidomide and Low-Dose Dexamethasone for Treatment of Patients with Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma [BMS] The application is based on data from ELOQUENT-3, a randomized Phase 2 study evaluating pomalidomide and dexamethasone with or without Empliciti in patients with refractory or relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved EPd for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies, including lenalidomide and a PI, in November 2018.
EMA Recommends Granting a Conditional Marketing Authorisation for Larotrectinib [ESMO] The efficacy and safety of Vitrakvi were studied in three single-arm trials (i.e. studies with no control group) that included a total of 102 adults and children with cancer that were evaluated.
First ‘histology-independent’ treatment for solid tumours with a specific gene mutation [EMA] Vitrakvi (larotrectinib) is the first so-called ‘histology-independent’ cancer treatment recommended for approval in the EU. This means that it can be used to treat non-haematological (i.e. that do not begin in the blood or bone marrow) tumours with this specific mutation, regardless of where in the body the tumour originated.
Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 22-25 July 2019 [EMA] - Five new medicines recommended for approval - Eight recommendations on extensions of therapeutic indication
Bayer in frame to win first EU nod for high-precision cancer drug [Reuters] Bayer earlier this year took full control of Vitrakvi in a deal with Eli Lilly’s Loxo Oncology, and the European thumbs-up follows U.S. regulatory approval in November.
	5.4 TRAITEMENTS - ECONOMIE
AstraZeneca's Lynparza scores limited NICE backing for new first-line maintenance use [Fierce Pharma] Lynparza is already covered for routine National Health Service use after three lines of chemo and later, so the newest nod represents a major step for the patient population. However, NICE is still holding out on a routine recommendation because long-term patient survival data isn't available yet.
	6.6 PUBLICATIONS
Medical journal editors expect authors to disclose conflicts of interest—but don’t disclose their own [Science] Half of U.S. editors have industry ties.
	6.7 DMP, BIG DATA & APPLIS
CancerLinQ Calls on MDx Labs to Share Structured Genomic Reports to Support Precision Oncology [Genome Web] Although CancerLinQ is working on growing its cache of genomic data, the lack of structured genomic data has made things difficult. For example, most next-generation sequencing test reports are sent to providers as PDF files or as faxes, and therefore aren't structured and computable for integration into EHRs.
Is Data Sharing Caring Enough About Patient Privacy? Part I: The Background [Bill of Health] A recent US lawsuit highlights crucial challenges at the interface of data utility, patient privacy & data misuse.