Onco Actu du 16 octobre 2019

	1. BIOLOGIE
These secret battles between your body’s cells might just save your life [Nature] To fight cancer and ageing, biologists are looking at how cells evict, kill or cannibalize less-fit rivals.
Alterations to the circadian clock make brain tumours vulnerable [Nature] The body’s circadian clock ensures the rhythmic expression of some genes across the day. The catalogue of genes under circadian control changes in an aggressive brain cancer — a discovery that might open up a new avenue for treatment.
	3.1.1 PRÉVENTION - TABAC - E-CIGS
A Young Man Nearly Lost His Life to Vaping [NY Times] He thought vaping THC would be safer than smoking marijuana, but the fumes shut down his lungs.
	4. DÉPISTAGE, DIAGNOSTIC ET PRONOSTIC
Improving cancer screening: what does the latest review recommend? [Cancer Research UK] Many newspapers picked up on recommendations to make screening ‘fit with busy lives’, which could involve offering cancer screening during lunch breaks and on weekends. But the review also includes vital, but perhaps less headline-grabbing recommendations aimed at making sure cancer screening programmes are managed and delivered in the best possible way for people across the country.
Review of national cancer screening programmes in England [NHS England] These documents provide details, including the terms of reference, for the review of national cancer screening programmes in England.
Offer cancer screenings during lunch breaks, report urges [The Guardian] The health service must kickstart a consumer revolution in how people access potentially life-saving tests as part of a package of “urgent action” to arrest a slide in the number of people who turn up to be screened, Prof Sir Mike Richards said.
	4.15 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - IMAGERIE
Two-for-one PET tracer reveals early signs of pancreatic cancer — and, unexpectedly, lung disease [Stanford] Initially, Gambhir and his team were after a new way to spot the first signs of pancreatic cancer, which is particularly hard to catch early. With that goal in mind, the scientists developed a tracer that clings to a special protein called integrin alpha-v beta-6, a molecule that sticks out on the surface of pancreatic cancer cells.
	4.2 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - GÉNOME
Ancestry launches consumer genetics tests for health, intensifying rivalry with 23andMe [STAT] AncestryHealth Plus will use next-generation DNA sequencing technology to deliver more detailed information to consumers. Initially, it will focus on the same 17 disease-associated genes focused on by AncestryHealth Core. It will cost $199, and then consumers will need to pay a $49 subscription fee every six months in order to continue getting quarterly updates on their genetic information.
	5. TRAITEMENTS
Pfizer scrambles to fill void after Teva stops making chemo drug often given to children [Fierce Pharma] It is ramping up production of vincristine—often used with other drugs to treat leukemia, brain tumors and lymphomas—after Teva in July notified the FDA that it had made the “business decision” to discontinue production. Its move has left pediatric oncologists scrambling to find supplies.
	5.1 TRAITEMENTS - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
Research on cell division provides new clues to how a common cancer treatment works [The Rockefeller University] Rockefeller scientists present a new way of understanding how Taxol works—and why it may not work in some cancer cells. Their findings might point to new ways of predicting which patients are likely to benefit from the drug, potentially opening doors to more personalized treatment approaches.
New Treatment Combination Could Work Against Broader Array of Cancer Cells, Study Finds [University of Maryland] In a proof of concept study, the researchers demonstrated that combining a PARP inhibitor with a DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitor delivered a one-two punch to non-small cell lung cancer tumors, which are normally not associated with mutations in BRCA genes.
	5.12.11 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
“Back in Time”: Penn Researchers Unravel the Early Makings of an Exhausted T Cell [Penn Medicine] The findings could help inform immunotherapies and potentially identify patients that might benefit most from some treatments, the preclinical study suggests. If the T cell pathways could be mapped out early, then patients more likely to respond well to treatments such as checkpoint inhibitors could potentially be identified.
Dual-Function Virus Engineered to Kill Tumor Cells and Support Immune Cells [NCI] Dr. Delgoffe’s lab had been testing an oncolytic virus (an engineered version of the Vaccinia virus) to better understand how interactions between cancer and immune cells change after viral infection of a tumor. They found that, when injected into tumors in mice, their virus was able to induce substantial numbers of T cells to enter tumors.
	5.12.2 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - CAR-T, THÉRAPIES CELLULAIRES
Drug-Light Combo Could Offer Control Over CAR T-Cell Therapy [UCSD] The system requires two “keys”—the drug Tamoxifen and blue light—to activate CAR T cells to bind to their targets. Just one key keeps the cells inactive. Researchers tested their system on live cell cultures as a proof of concept. Their next step is to do tests on tumors in mice.
	5.12.5 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PHARMA
Boehringer's VC wing backs anti-cancer virus startup [Fierce Biotech] At Abalos, Vollmer will get the chance to work with another twist on the idea of using the immune system to treat cancer. Abalos thinks its approach can result in long-term disease control that hits both the primary tumor and metastases.
Boehringer Ingelheim-backed Abalos tosses hat into packed oncolytic virus ring [EndPoints] Unlike other oncolytic viruses — such as the herpes-virus-based T-Vec from Amgen, the first such therapy approved in the US — arenaviruses don’t themselves kill cells. Like in the Junin and Lassa infections that arenaviruses can cause in humans, the damage comes from the body’s immune response. In a potential immunotherapy, that response would be directed to cancer cells.
	5.17 TRAITEMENTS - RADIOTHÉRAPIE
Breaking the Stroma Barrier: Study Shows a New Way to Hit Cancer with Radiation [Osaka University] Researchers at Osaka University test a new cancer treatment in mice that guides high-strength radiotherapy directly to pancreatic tumors.
	5.2 PHARMA
Cyteir Adds $40M for Clinical Test of “Synthetically Lethal” Cancer Drug [Xconomy] During the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in March, Cyteir presented preclinical data showing that its lead compound, CYT-0851, could treat B-cell lymphomas and a number of solid tumors, including pancreatic cancer. The company is now testing its experimental drug in humans.
Glenmark spin-out aims to challenge Amgen, others in cancer bispecific field [Biopharma Dive] To start, Ichnos will advance two bispecific drugs. One, in Phase 1 testing for breast cancer, targets the HER2 protein along with an immune cell protein called CD3. The other, also in Phase 1, binds to CD3 as well as a protein called CD38 that's often found on multiple myeloma cells.
Cyteir nets $40M for rad synthetic lethality platform — throwing another monkey wrench at cell repair [EndPoints] Although the potential applications on PARP-resistant patients excited investors, the money will primarily push Cyteir through its first Phase I/II clinical trial examining their compound as a single-agent therapy that takes the rough principle of PARP to patients who might lack the particular mutation to be PARP-eligible.
	5.2.1 PHARMA - PARTENARIATS
Merck and the machine: German pharma tests real-time platform to forestall drug shortages [Fierce Pharma] The German pharma plans to launch a pilot project with TraceLink, using real-time data points in the company’s supply chain to more accurately predict future demand for its drugs.
	5.2.3 PHARMA - ÉCONOMIE
Novartis, following fellow cancer drug makers, turns to TV advertising with new Piqray campaign [Fierce Pharma] The first work for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) therapy Piqray (alpelisib) includes a national TV ad along with digital, print, social media and in-office materials.
	6.1 OBSERVATION
Report: Progress in global cancer fight is not only possible, but achievable [ACS] Third edition of Cancer Atlas highlights patterns and inequities in cancer burden around the world.
	6.11 PATIENTS
Defiant men and women stand up to cancer and bare their scars in raw photo series [Cancer Research UK Photographer Ami Barwell said: “To me, ‘Defiance’ is an act of rebellion. Cancer isn’t pretty, it can be dark, painful and destructive. But we aren’t playing to cancer’s rules. These people are strong, beautiful and, most of all, defiant.”
Casting cancer as a ‘war’ or ‘battle’ may harm health, study finds [USC] Schwarz and Hauser had thought that because battles involve vigilance, perhaps hearing the battle metaphor would motivate people to regularly check for the warning signs of cancer and adopt a healthier lifestyle that could possibly prevent the disease. Instead, the idea of the war on cancer “increased fatalistic beliefs about prevention,” they wrote.
	6.13 SOINS PALLIATIFS
An Oncologist Asks When It’s Time to Say ‘Enough’ [NY Times] There’s an old joke in medical circles: “Why should you never give an oncologist a screwdriver?” The answer: “Because they will open the coffin and carry on treating the patient.”
	6.6 PUBLICATIONS
Thousands of grant peer reviewers share concerns in global survey [Nature] Peer review process helps funders make decisions, but researchers say it is time-consuming and lacks transparency.
	6.7 DMP, BIG DATA & APPLIS
McKesson and Aetion collaborate to advance cancer research with real-world data [Aetion] Relationship pairs Aetion Evidence Platform® and McKesson’s robust oncology data sets to accelerate regulatory-grade oncology studies.
	6.9 CONTROVERSES
Missouri appeals court overturns $110 million Johnson & Johnson talc verdict [Reuters] The verdict that was overturned stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Lois Slemp, who claimed she developed cancer after four decades of using talc-containing products sold by J&J, including Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower powder.