Onco Actu du 22 janvier 2020

	1.4 BIOLOGIE - TECHNOS, MODÈLES
Technologies to watch in 2020 [Nature] From Single-cell sequencing to better cryo-EM samples.
	2.6 ETIOLOGIE - ENVIRONNEMENT
SlimeGate 2/7: Predatorts 3.2/4: The Predatort Victim Exchange [The Risk-Monger] The Predatort Victim Exchange is a place where lawyers and marketing firms build up a stock of victims via mass advertising campaigns, assessing a dollar value on each individual and trading them on an open market. The best recent example of the lawyers’ victim exploitation can be seen in the explosion of Roundup victims lined up to be auctioned off to any Predatort firms with good credit at a litigation finance centre.
	3.1.1 PRÉVENTION - TABAC - E-CIGS
JUUL use more than doubled among U.S. teens, young adults in one year [Reuters] Among 18-to-20-year-olds, JUUL use went from 11.9% to 23.9%. Among 21-to-24-year-olds, use went from 5.6% to 18.1%, researchers report in JAMA Pediatrics.
	3.3 PRÉVENTION - VACCINS
JPM: Merck turns to contract manufacturers to help with Gardasil supply; plans 2023 plant openings [Fierce Pharma] Merck has doubled capacity from existing facilities while it builds two new plants but that has not been enough to handle demand that has "skyrocketed," Merck CEO Ken Frazier told an audience at last week’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
HPV vaccine almost eradicates risk of cervical cancer in young women, analysis suggests [King's College London] In a letter published today in The Lancet, a new analysis proposes that the vaccine can prevent 97.6% of infections over the next eight years in vaccinated women and predicts that it almost eliminates the risk of cervical cancer in women vaccinated in early adolescence.
Doubts raised about effectiveness of HPV vaccines [Newcastle University] “Abnormal cell changes are likely to have been overdiagnosed in the trials because cervical cytology was conducted at 6-12 months rather than at the normal screening interval of 36 months. This means that the trials may have overestimated the efficacy of the vaccine as some of the lesions would have regressed spontaneously.”
HPV infections nearly eliminated in England under vaccine scheme [The Guardian] Figures boost hopes that cases of cervical cancer will fall, but separate study questions link.
	3.5 PRÉVENTION - UV
Sunscreen ingredients really do seep into the blood. Is that bad? [Reuters] The study authors stressed that their findings do not suggest that people should stop using sunscreen.
Are Sunscreens Safe? FDA Studies Suggest Its Time We Get Answers [Dr. Len] We need solutions, and we need the FDA and the sunscreen industry to come together and give us the information we need. Uncertainty has huge risks, since some will inevitably take this indecision as an excuse to avoid sun safe behaviors all together.
	4.12 BIOPSIES LIQUIDES
FNIH Team Selects Cancer Biomarkers in Phase I of Liquid Biopsy Reference Standards Project [Genome Web] After officially launching the "Identification and Validation of ctDNA Quality Control Materials" Initiative last fall, a team at the Foundation of the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) has identified 14 clinically actional variants that it will incorporate as part of quality control materials to submit to the US Food and Drug Administration for eventual widespread use in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing.
	4.3 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - INDUSTRIELS
Myriad Submits sPMA for BRACAnalysis® CDx as a Companion Diagnostic for Lynparza® in Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer [Myriad] This submission represents our tenth PMA filing for BRACAnalysis CDx in support of Lynparza and will help men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer get access to the most advanced therapies.”
	4.7 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - COL DE L'UTÉRUS
Cervical cancer cases soaring among women in their late 20s [The Telegraph] Health experts said poor take-up of smear tests among those aged between 25 and 29 has fuelled a “worrying” 54 per cent rise in cases in the last decade.
	5.1 TRAITEMENTS - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
Scientists Reveal How Lung Cancer Cancer Cells Avoid Death from Targeted Drugs [Dana-Farber Cancer Institute] In their published report, Jänne and his colleagues say they have discovered a mechanism within lung cancer cells that enables the cells to lie dormant and avoid destruction by the cancer drugs.
Changes in Metabolism Help Melanomas Spread [NCI] The MCT1 inhibitor did not impair the migration of melanoma cells grown in cell culture, that is, cells grown outside of an animal in a dish. However, treating the melanoma-bearing mice with the drug significantly lowered their eventual metastatic tumor burden.
Scientists find unexpected anti-cancer activity in range of non-oncology drugs — study [EndPoints] Most existing cancer drugs work by stifling proteins — but some of the cancer-killing compounds Corsello et al came across appeared to work by activating a protein or stabilizing a protein-protein interaction.
Editing cancer-causing RNA delivers precision strike on triple-negative breast cancer [Scripps Research] While most drugs work by binding to proteins, Disney’s compound first latches onto an uncommon target, a molecule called a microRNA precursor, involved in silencing gene transcription. Next it recruits and activates the cell’s own disposal system to destroy it.
	5.10 TRAITEMENTS - ESSAIS
Targeted Therapy Combination Shows Promising Antitumor Activity in Aggressive Meningiomas [AACR] The targeted therapy combination of the mTOR inhibitor everolimus (Afinitor) and the somatostatin agonist octreotide (Sandostatin) yielded promising antitumor activity and survival outcomes in patients with aggressive meningiomas, according to the results of a phase II trial published in Clinical Cancer Research.
What do Mass General, the NCI and Mayo Clinic have in common? They routinely blow off an FDA rule on posting trial results [EndPoints] They found one group, though, that was particularly good at complying: Big Pharma. It was a notable admission from a doctor and writer most famous for a book called Bad Pharma.
Select few cancer patients enroll in potentially life-extending clinical trials [Penn State] Zaorsky, Gusani and their team found that patients with cancer treated in clinical trials, when matched and compared to similar patients not treated on trials, lived longer.
Adding chemotherapy to radiotherapy for bladder cancer shows benefits for patients [Institute of Cancer Research] “Although patients report a drop in quality of life as they deal with side effects immediately following treatment, we are pleased to see this levels out over the course of the following years and the addition of chemotherapy doesn’t seem to impair quality of life."
	5.12.2 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - CAR-T, THÉRAPIES CELLULAIRES
Side Effect of CAR T Therapy Caused by Pyroptosis: Mouse Study [The Scientist] There may be a way to avoid an overload of cytokines, the authors found. Interfering in the downstream effects of pyroptosis, either by blocking certain molecules or destroying macrophages, stopped cytokine release syndrome from occurring in mice.
Deciphering a cancer treatment’s dark side [Science] One common hazard of CAR-T cell therapy, as it’s known, is a dramatic inflammatory response, which can trigger symptoms from high fevers to organ failure. Research published today from a team of scientists in China seeks to untangle what’s happening at the cellular level during this response, in hopes of ultimately finding ways to prevent it.
	5.12.5 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PHARMA
BeiGene cancer drug data sets up China duel with Merck [Biopharma Dive] If launched, tislelizumab will compete directly with Merck & Co.'s Keytruda, which won approval in the same type of lung cancer in China late last year. Keytruda was on track to record more than $10 billion in global sales in 2019, much of which comes from the U.S. market.
BeiGene Announces that the Phase 3 Clinical Trial of its Anti-PD-1 Antibody Tislelizumab in Patients with First-Line Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Met the Primary Endpoint of Progression-Free Survival at Interim Analysis [BeiGene] The company plans to discuss its plans for filing a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for tislelizumab as a first-line treatment for squamous NSCLC with the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) at the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in China and to present these data at an upcoming medical meeting.
BeiGene lines up its first shot at cracking the megablockbuster PD-1 market for lung cancer. But can they overcome underdog status? [EndPoints] The China-based biotech run by CEO John Oyler posted positive top-line progression-free survival results for their pivotal Chinese study on their PD-1 antibody tislelizumab combined with chemo for squamous non-small cell lung cancer in frontline cases.
	5.2 PHARMA
FDA Accepts Regulatory Submission of Supplemental New Drug Application for LYNPARZA® (olaparib) in HRR-Mutated Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer and Grants Priority Review [Merck] Submission Based on PROfound, the First Phase 3 Trial Evaluating a Targeted Treatment in Biomarker-Selected Prostate Cancer Patients.
AstraZeneca nabs priority review for Lynparza in prostate as PARP inhibitors expand to more cancers [EndPoints] The news is another notch in the belt for an R&D program and an oncology pipeline that was struggling just three years ago. Lynparza, a PARP inhibitor, and Imfinzi, AstraZeneca’s CTLA4 immunotherapy, will each finish 2019 with over $1 billion sales, and they only continue to expand their potential market.
AstraZeneca plans to spend $535M-plus to expand its R&D network and manufacturing ops in France [EndPoints] In their statement, the pharma giant noted that it’s recently invested in Innate Pharma — committing $242 million in near-term cash to partner on a slate of programs — as well as Transgene and set up a cancer drug incubation center as well.
	5.2.5 PHARMA - GSK
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants priority review of belantamab mafodotin for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma [GSK] Biologics License Application based on results from the pivotal DREAMM-2 study of immunoconjugate targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) in heavily pre-treated patient population who was refractory to an immunomodulatory drug and a proteasome inhibitor, and refractory or intolerant to an anti-CD38 antibody.
GSK’s ‘breakthrough’ BCMA cancer drug gets a priority review — and a big win for the oncology R&D team [EndPoints] Their antibody-drug conjugate belantamab mafodotin, developed inside GSK after the big vaccines-for-cancer-drugs swap with Novartis, marks their comeback in oncology.
	5.3.4 TRAITEMENTS - AMM (FDA, EMA,...)
Genmab Announces European Marketing Authorization for DARZALEX® (Daratumumab) in Combination with Bortezomib, Thalidomide and Dexamethasone in Frontline Multiple Myeloma [Genmab] Approval based on data from Phase III CASSIOPEIA study.
	5.5.5 ASCO (GASTRO-INTESTINAL)
Bayer to showcase new data including research in immuno-oncology at ASCO GI Cancers Symposium 2020 [Bayer] Data to include early analyses of Stivarga® (regorafenib) across HCC, CRC and GI cancers, including Phase 1b data in combination with immuno-oncology therapies.
Blood-Based Test Could Help Identify Hard-to-Detect Gastrointestinal Cancers [ASCO] The test to be presented at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium uses cell-free DNA — degraded DNA fragments circulating through the bloodstream, which can come from a number of sources, including tumor cells that have died and released DNA fragments.
New Drug Combinations Maintain Quality of Life for Patients With Colorectal and Liver Cancers [ASCO] Patient-reported outcomes from two large studies show that quality of life is maintained longer with newer drug combinations compared with standard of care for the treatment of patients with a specific type of colorectal cancer and unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.
Gut Bacteria May Be One Culprit for Increase of Colorectal Cancer in Younger People [Georgetown University] “There was a much higher presence of F. nuc in younger patients than we expected,” said Dr. Weinberg. “As to whether this bacterium alone can explain some of the rise in incidence of colorectal cancer in younger people is something we need to explore, and to aid in that effort this ongoing study will incorporate tumors from up to a total of 144 people.”
	6. LUTTE CONTRE LES CANCERS
Our best weapons against cancer are not magic bullets [Nature] The data do make it clear that the majority of our most effective solutions will be found outside the cabinet of cutting-edge medicines. If we want to do all that we can to reduce the burden of cancer and to improve life expectancy, we must harness the tools of population statistics.