Onco Actu du 9 août 2019

  BIOLOGIE  

Moffitt Researchers Identify Subtypes of Squamous Cell Lung Cancer [Moffitt Cancer Center] 
The research team performed extensive analysis on 108 SCC tumor samples from Moffitt’s Total Cancer Care® Protocol. This analysis included copy number alterations, DNA mutations, RNA and protein expression patterns, and pathology.

  ETIOLOGIE - TABAC  

How Cigarette Smoke Makes Head and Neck Cancer More Aggressive [Thomas Jefferson University]
A change in the tumor metabolism due to tobacco exposure could open new treatment avenues in head and neck cancer.
 
  PRÉVENTION - TABAC  

FDA tells four firms to stop selling flavored e-cigarette, hookah products [Reuters] 
The health agency previously asked nearly 90 makers of Electronic Nicotine Delivery System products for information, including evidence that the product is legally marketed and a number of companies have removed their products from the market.
 
 PRÉVENTION - VACCINS  

The American Cancer Society Reminds Parents that the HPV Vaccine Should be Part of the Back-to-School Routine [ACS] 
This fall, the American Cancer Society (ACS) is reminding parents that making sure girls and boys ages 11-12 receive the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine should be part of the back-to-school routine.
 
  DÉPISTAGE - INDUSTRIELS  

Guardant Health Preps Pan-Cancer FDA Bid, Highlights New MSI Validation Data [Genome Web] 
MSI analysis has become a crucial aspect of a new arm of pan-cancer, or tumor-agnostic precision oncology, especially after the FDA's 2017 approval of a tissue-agnostic, biomarker-guided indication for Merck's Keytruda (pembrolizumab).
 
  DÉPISTAGE - GÉNOME  

How can we make cancer treatment less toxic? [Genomics England] 
As part of the pilot, whole genome sequence (WGS) data from cancer participants within the Project is now being analysed for the presence of these four DPYD gene variants. The findings are then being made available to Genomic Medicine Centres.
 
  DÉPISTAGE - SEIN  

Dense breast notification laws not leading to more screening ultrasounds [Reuters] 
To see whether dense breast notification laws changed how often physicians ordered screening ultrasounds for women, researchers examined data from 12,787 wellness visits from 2007 to 2015 by women 40 to 74 years old.
 
 TRAITEMENTS - PRÉ-CLINIQUE  

Bacteria on tumors influences immune response and survival of patients with pancreatic cancer [MD Anderson Cancer Center] 
The researchers also showed that fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) from long-term survivors prompted immune response and stifled tumors in a mouse model of the disease by altering the bacteria on the tumor – its microbiome.

Researchers Propose Role For Microbes in Pancreatic Cancer Immune Features, Survival [Genome Web] 
As they reported online today in Cell, the researchers used 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing to profile tumor microbial members in resected tumor samples from dozens of individuals with PDAC, uncovering enhanced microbial diversity in tumor samples from patients with longer-than-usual survival compared to more typical short-term survivors of the disease.

Pancreatic Cancer: Less Toxic, More Enduring Drug May Improve Therapy [Columbia University] 
Olive’s team also discovered that PTC596 blocks the formation of microtubules—a network of proteins involved in cell division and transport of nutrients within the cell. He demonstrated that PTC596 may act synergistically with nab-paclitaxel, another microtubule-binding agent. 

  TRAITEMENTS - ESSAIS  

Speed SPYing: adaptive clinical trials hit the gas [Nature Biotechnology] 
The I-SPY 2 breast cancer clinical trial paves the way for multi-arm adaptive learning trials.
 
Stopping Early [In The Pipeline] 
Run enough trials, and handle enough data, and nothing is impossible. Bastian’s post has other examples, and I highly recommend it. Clinical trial design and interpretation is the most crucial part of this whole business, and it deserves plenty of thought and plenty of respect.

  IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PRÉ-CLINIQUE  

Balance of “Stop” and “Go” Signaling Could Be Key to Cancer Immunotherapy Response [Penn Medicine] 
Penn study shows potential of interferon pathway as biomarker, therapeutic target.

  IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - CAR-T, THÉRAPIES CELLULAIRES...  

Can an immune strategy used to treat cancer also wipe out HIV infections? [Science] 
A mouse study with engineered “CAR T cells” shows a novel way to stop the virus.
 
CAR T-Cell Therapy Coverage Decision Improves Medicare Beneficiary Access to Cancer Care [ASCO] 
ASCO remains concerned, however, that Medicare reimbursement still does not cover the full cost of CAR T-cell therapy.
 
Medicare boosts CAR-T cancer therapies with expanded coverage [Biopharma Dive] 
The change, finalized Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was a long time in the making, arriving nearly two years after the Food and Drug Administration approved the first CAR-T therapy, Novartis' Kymriah. 

  IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - ÉCONOMIE    

Lung cancer immunotherapy combo added to Cancer Drugs Fund [Cancer Research UK] 
Around 7,500 people in England are diagnosed with this type of lung cancer year. And around 1,700 may be eligible for the pembrolizumab combination, according to the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
 
New lung cancer treatment option approved by NICE [NICE] 
Because the clinical evidence is immature, the cost-effectiveness estimates for pembrolizumab combination therapy are very uncertain. The committee recognised that it has the potential to be cost-effective, and therefore recommended it for use on the CDF.
 
  PHARMA  
 
AstraZeneca's Tagrisso helps lung cancer patients live longer: study [Reuters] 
Sales from AstraZeneca’s oncology unit had soared 57% to $2.17 billion in the second quarter, accounting for 38% of total product sales, with revenue Tagrisso nearly doubling to $784 million.
 
AstraZeneca's flagship Tagrisso helps lung cancer patients live longer in pivotal study [EndPoints] 
AstraZeneca said Tagrisso conferred a statistically-significant and clinically-meaningful improvement in overall survival — although details will be provided at a later date.
 
Tagrisso significantly improves overall survival in the Phase III FLAURA trial for 1st-line EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer [AstraZeneca] 
Tagrisso showed a statistically-significant and clinically-meaningful improvement in OS, a secondary endpoint in the FLAURA Phase III trial, compared with erlotinib or gefitinib both of which were previous standard-of-care (SoC) treatments in this setting.