Onco Actu du 18 décembre 2019

	1. BIOLOGIE
New model explains how our immune system sometimes helps cancer spread [University of Alberta] The pair analyzed hundreds of studies on many types of cancer, then developed a mathematical model that can explain the mechanisms through which the immune system can support metastasis—and give insight into how to prevent and treat the disease.
	1.4 BIOLOGIE - TECHNOS, MODÈLES
Moffitt Researchers Develop More Efficient Approach to Create Mouse Models [Moffitt Cancer Center] “Given that it takes less than 2.5 months from embryonic stem cell targeting to inducing melanomagenesis in experimental chimeras, we anticipate that our platform has the potential to dramatically accelerate melanoma studies in mice.”
	3.1.1 PRÉVENTION - TABAC - E-CIGS
One in five high school seniors vaped marijuana in the last year, fueling concern among health officials [STAT] The percent of high school seniors who said they’d vaped marijuana in the past month nearly doubled over the past year — jumping from 7.5% in 2018 to 14% in 2019.
E-Cigarette Laws that Work for Everyone [Bill of Health] Part of the difficulty in regulating e-cigarettes is that, unlike cigarettes, they offer benefits and harms that differ across generations. This concern is called intergenerational equity. How can a solution be crafted that serves all Americans?
Flavored E-Cigarette Bans are a Sure Way to Increase Youth Cigarette Consumption and Black Market THC Vaping [The Rest of The Story] What public policy makers who are supporting flavored e-cigarette bans apparently fail to realize is that the overwhelming majority of youth who are using e-cigarettes regularly are kids who are not only puffing on e-cigarettes, but also experimenting with more dangerous substances, including vaped marijuana and tobacco cigarettes.
Teen Marijuana Vaping Soars, Displacing Other Habits [NY Times] Drinking, cigarette smoking and the use of hard drugs all declined, according to a new federal survey of high school and middle school students.
More than 20% of U.S. of high school seniors vaped THC in 2019: study [Reuters] Results of the study funded by the National Institutes of Health are alarming as federal officials continue to investigate fatal lung injuries associated with vaping.
	3.2 PRÉVENTION - OBÉSITÉ
Study Finds Losing Weight After 50 May Lower Breast Cancer Risk [ACS] Researchers looked at 180,885 women from 10 studies in the Pooling Project of Prospective Studies of Diet and Cancer. They recorded the women’s weights 3 times over about 10 years: when they enrolled, about 5 years later, and about 5 years after that.
Sustained weight loss in middle-age may lower breast cancer risk [Reuters] Researchers who reviewed data from 180,000 women found the more weight a woman lost - and kept off - the lower her risk of breast cancer, according to the report published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
	4.15 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - IMAGERIE
AI, Accelerated Computing Drive Shift to Personalized Healthcare [Nvidia] The total-body coverage of uEXPLORER can significantly shorten scan time. Scans as brief as 30 seconds provide good image quality, compared to traditional systems requiring over 20 minutes of scan time.
	4.2 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - GÉNOME
Rolling out genomic screening [BMJ] Experience in Canada illustrates some of the challenges of introducing genomic screening into routine clinical care.
	4.3 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - INDUSTRIELS
The FTC moves to block DNA sequencer Illumina’s acquisition of PacBio, calling company a ‘monopolist’ [STAT] For many investors, it already looked as if the the PacBio deal was in trouble. In October, the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority concluded that the deal may result in a lessening of competition, and also blocked the merger.
	4.9 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - SEIN
AI Improves Breast Cancer Risk Prediction [RSNA] Researchers developed a risk model that relies on a deep neural network, a type of AI that can extract information from mammographic images. This information has the potential to identify women who would benefit from additional screening with MRI.
	5.10 TRAITEMENTS - ESSAIS
World first treatment with ‘acoustic cluster therapy’ to improve chemotherapy delivery [Institute of Cancer Research] The clusters of microdroplets and microbubbles are injected along with the patient’s chemotherapy and the technology, called acoustic cluster therapy, uses a standard ultrasound scan to convert the clusters into an activated form within the tumour.
	5.12.4 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - ESSAIS
GSK's anti-BCMA med shrinks tumors in 31% of advanced multiple myeloma patients [Fierce Biotech] GSK is seeking approval for belantamab mafodotin as a fourth-line treatment for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, but it is testing the medicine in earlier lines of treatment. It's running trials for the prospect both as a single agent and in combination with other drugs, both experimental and approved, such as Merck's PD-1 blockbuster Keytruda.
GSK advances blood cancer drug to FDA, but rivals threaten [Biopharma Dive] CAR-Ts are complex treatments and come with the risk of serious side effects. Using an antibody-drug conjugate, like GSK's is doing, could offer benefits in convenience and ease-of-administration.
BCMA-Targeted Immunotherapy Can Lead to Durable Responses in Multiple Myeloma [Penn Medicine] This phase two trial involved 58 centers in eight countries.
	5.12.5.1 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - BIOTECH
Invectys publishes positive clinical results for its INVAC-1 Phase I Study in Clinical Cancer Research [Invectys] Overall, results demonstrated the potential of INVAC-1, with 58% patients demonstrating disease stabilization, 65% reaching the one-year survival mark, a 2.7 months median Progression-Free Survival and a 15 months median Overall Survival.
ImmunoGen Announces Accelerated Approval Pathway for Mirvetuximab Soravtansine in Ovarian Cancer [ImmunoGen] Based on this guidance, the company will initiate SORAYA, a pivotal trial to evaluate mirvetuximab monotherapy in women with folate receptor alpha (FRα)-high platinum-resistant ovarian cancer who have been previously treated with Avastin® (bevacizumab).
	5.12.6 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - AMM
FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) Recommends KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) for the Treatment of Certain Patients with High-Risk, Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC) [Merck] Merck anticipates a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), or target action date, in January 2020, based on priority review.
	5.2 PHARMA
FDA raises doubts about benefits of Epizyme's cancer drug ahead of AdComm [Fierce Biotech] In briefing experts on its advisory committee ahead of a meeting Wednesday, the FDA raised doubts about whether the objective response rate (ORR) seen in the EZH-202 trial is good enough.
FDA’s in-house review offers bleak assessment of Epizyme’s tazemetostat — but win or lose this cancer drug may still have a future [EndPoints] As the FDA notes, there’s not much data to support tazemetostat as an effective drug for these cases of sarcoma. Pooling data from 2 cohorts in their pivotal study, they came out with a collective overall response rate of only 13%. Out of 106 patients, only 2 experienced a complete response.
Eli Lilly spotlights early oncology in first pipeline review since R&D shift [EndPoints] In oncology, the company highlighted three targeted programs: A BTK blocker acquired in the $8 billion Loxo deal and now in Phase I, a KRAS inhibitor in Phase I/II, and a selective estrogen receptor degrader now in Phase I.
	5.2.3 PHARMA - ÉCONOMIE
All hail drug reps: Most cancer docs rely on pharma salespeople for info, survey finds [Fierce Pharma] “Oncologists appreciate the pharmaceutical companies and they rely on them, particularly when it addresses a high unmet medical need,” said Joe DePinto, president of Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions, which conducts the oncology survey.
	5.2.6 PHARMA - BIOTECH
PharmaMar files for FDA approval of small cell lung cancer drug [Fierce Biotech] Lurbinectedin is designed to cause cell death by inhibiting activated transcription and inducing DNA double-strand breaks. Through this mechanism, PharmaMar thinks lurbinectedin can improve the prospects of small cell lung cancer patients who have progressed after receiving platinum-containing therapy.
No pain, no gain: Company building French VC scores €250M for life sciences fund [EndPoints] The French VC firm does not bother with pitches from companies vying for investment — instead, it sources the raw material to build companies from scratch. On Wednesday, it unveiled a €250 million boost to invest in the life sciences, in particular, the realm of interventional medical devices.
	5.3 TRAITEMENTS - FDA, EMA, NICE...
AZ, Merck's Lynparza narrowly snags FDA panel backing in pancreatic cancer [Fierce Pharma] FDA staffers had some concerns, briefing documents revealed earlier this week. For one, they had misgivings about the trial’s small size. They also cited the limitations of current imaging tech to accurately measure tumors as “another source of uncertainty.”
Lynparza recommended by FDA advisory committee for 1st-line maintenance treatment of germline BRCA-mutated metastatic pancreatic cancer [AstraZeneca] ODAC voted that Lynparza demonstrated a clinically meaningful and favourable risk-benefit profile for patients based on Phase III POLO trial results.
	5.3.4 TRAITEMENTS - AMM (FDA, EMA,...)
In crowded prostate cancer market, Pfizer's Xtandi notches third approval for use in earlier stage of disease [EndPoints] Earlier this year, Bayer and Finnish partner Orion’s AR inhibitor Nubeqa was approved for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body (nmCRPC). Meanwhile, PARP and PD-(L)1 agents are also being tested for use in prostate cancer.
	5.6.7 ESMO - IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES
ESMO I-O: Roche silences Tecentriq doubters with latest lung cancer analysis [Fierce Pharma] Tecentriq, which in September showed it could extend those patients’ lives for 7.1 months longer than chemo could, is looking to join Merck & Co.’s Keytruda as the second member of the PD-1/L1 class to win a monotherapy approval in first-line lung cancer.
	5.9 AACR
The AACR-MPM Oncology Charitable Foundation Announces First Grants to Support Transformative Cancer Research [AACR] The AACR-MPM Oncology Charitable Foundation Transformative Cancer Research Grants program is announcing its first two grants totaling $800,000 in support of research that has the potential to explore new approaches to cancer treatment.
	6.1 OBSERVATION
Patients with Acute Leukemia Who Are Treated with Common Therapy Have Increased Risk for Heart Failure [Penn Medicine] In this study, researchers analyzed data of 450 patients with ALL (when bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell) or AML (when bone marrow makes abnormal myeloblasts—a type of white blood cell—red blood cells, or platelets). Of the patients studied, 40, or about 9 percent, developed symptomatic heart failure.
	6.7.1 IA/BIOINFORMATIQUE
Artificial Intelligence in Health Care - A Report From the National Academy of Medicine [JAMA] The challenges are unrealistic expectations, biased and nonrepresentative data, inadequate prioritization of equity and inclusion, the risk of exacerbating health care disparities, low levels of trust, uncertain regulatory and tort environments, and inadequate evaluation before scaling narrow AI.
	6.7.3 DMP
Evaluating Improvements and Shortcomings in Clinician Satisfaction With Electronic Health Record Usability [JAMA Network Open] There was no statistical improvement in EHR SUS scores between products certified according to 2014 and 2015 standards. One-third of 2014 products and one-quarter of 2015 products fell below the average benchmark SUS score.