Onco Actu du 13 février 2020

	1. BIOLOGIE
New Report Counters Claims on the Origin of Gastric Cancer [The Scientist] Several studies have supported the idea that “chief” cells in the stomach revert to stem cells and lead to cancer, but new results do not observe such dedifferentiation.
	1.4 BIOLOGIE - TECHNOS, MODÈLES
Animal-research data show effects of EU’s tough regulations [Nature] The European Commission has published its first review of strict legislation designed to protect research animals.
	3.1.1 PRÉVENTION - TABAC - E-CIGS
Vapers Show Cancer-Associated Biological Changes Similar to Smokers [Keck School of Medicine] “That doesn’t mean that these people are going to develop cancer,” Besaratinia said. “But what we are seeing is that the same changes in chemical tags detectable in tumors from cancer patients are also found in people who vape or smoke, presumably due to exposure to cancer-causing chemicals present in cigarette smoke and, generally at much lower levels, in electronic cigarettes’ vapor.”
Juul Bought Ads Appearing on Cartoon Network and Other Youth Sites, Suit Claims [NY Times] The suit, brought by the state’s attorney general, Maura Healey, presents some of the starkest evidence to date that the company was targeting young, nonsmokers during its launch period, from June 2015 through early 2016.
	4. DÉPISTAGE, DIAGNOSTIC ET PRONOSTIC
Artificial Intelligence Expedites Brain Tumor Diagnosis during Surgery [NCI] The SRH imager is being used at several major cancer centers across the United States today. Both AI and SRH imaging are emerging technologies, so there will be challenges to integrating them into care, Dr. Orringer explained, such as financial or regulatory issues as well as clinician training.
	5. TRAITEMENTS
The Cancer Industry: Hype vs. Reality [Scientific American] Cancer medicine generates enormous revenues but marginal benefits for patients.
	5.1 TRAITEMENTS - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
Absent p53, oral cancers recruit and reprogram nerves to fuel tumor growth [MD Anderson Cancer Center] In the study, mice with oral cancer treated with the adrenergic blocker carvedilol had sharply lower tumor growth and cancer cell proliferation. Myers says the team is working to develop clinical trials of adrenergic blockers, most likely in combination with other drugs.
Cancer cells alter protein production machinery to hasten metastasis [Mass. General Hospital] Importantly, the discovery also suggests that a combination of targeted therapies that disrupt the ribosome function and inhibit cancer cell growth slows the spread of breast cancer in a mouse model.
	5.10 TRAITEMENTS - ESSAIS
Coronavirus outbreak begins to disrupt booming China drug trials [Reuters] The U.S. clinical trials database lists nearly 500 studies with a site in the city of Wuhan, which has endured the brunt of an outbreak that has killed more than 1,100 people and infected more than 44,000 in China. About 20% of global trials are now conducted in China, up from about 10% just five years ago, according to GlobalData Plc.
	5.12.11 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
Attacking pancreatic cancer with the help of the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease in cows [Fierce Biotech] The researchers found that a peptide taken from the foot-and-mouth virus can seek out pancreatic cancer cells. Arming the peptide guide with a toxic warhead killed pancreatic tumors in mice and significantly prolonged the animals’ lifespans, according to a new study published in the journal Theranostics.
Designer Probiotic Treatment for Cancer Immunotherapy [Columbia University] Columbia biomedical engineers have designed a novel probiotic strain that after a single dose can seek out solid tumors and safely deliver immune checkpoint inhibitors, resulting in tumor regression of treated and untreated cancer lesions. The study is published today in Science Translational Medicine.
	5.12.5 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PHARMA
Merck's Keytruda rides breast cancer hot streak to frontline chemo-combo win [Fierce Pharma] The results extend a positive streak for Keytruda in TNBC, an aggressive, tough-to-treat form of breast cancer.
Merck builds case for Keytruda use in breast cancer [Biopharma Dive] Merck said significantly more patients treated with the Keytruda combo in the 10% group were alive without disease progression than those treated with chemo alone. Merck did not release any data from the other subgroups, causing Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Louise Chen to conclude the Keytruda regimen didn't help those patients.
Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in Combination with Chemotherapy Met Primary Endpoint of Progression-Free Survival (PFS) as First-Line Treatment for Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (mTNBC) [Merck] Data to be Presented at an Upcoming Medical Congress and Discussed with Regulatory Authorities.
Catching up with Roche, Merck racks up positive data in frontline triple negative breast cancer [EndPoints] Investigators for the KEYNOTE-355 study report that Keytruda plus chemotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival for patients with metastatic TNBC whose tumors express PD-L1 compared to chemo alone, hitting a co-primary endpoint.
	5.12.5.1 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - BIOTECH
ALX raises $105M for midphase trials of CD47 cancer drug [Fierce Biotech] ALX, formerly known as Alexo Therapeutics, thinks fusion protein ALX148 has a better risk-benefit profile than its rivals and has persuaded investors to buy into that idea.
Corey Goodman marshals $105M mega-round for his CD47 upstart, looking to break new ground in PhII [EndPoints] The big idea at ALX — initially called Alexo — is that a “dead” Fc domain in the structure of the drug keeps it from binding to macrophages. That, in turn, is intended to offer investigators a chance to amp up the dosage with less fear of toxicity, offering a unique profile in the CD47 checkpoint pathway.
	5.12.8 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - ECONOMIE
Pembrolizumab with axitinib for untreated advanced renal cell carcinoma [NICE] Uncertainties in the clinical evidence would not be resolved through data collection in the Cancer Drugs Fund. So, pembrolizumab with axitinib is not recommended for use in the fund.
NICE rejects Merck's Keytruda kidney cancer combo, keeping pressure off BMS [Fierce Pharma] Fortunately for Merck, NICE’s guidance is still in draft form, and it’s now open for public consultation until March 4. So the New Jersey drugmaker still has time to improve on Keytruda’s £2,630-per-vial list price, which doesn’t even taken into account the £3,517 sticker on 56 Inlyta tablets.
NICE refuses Keytruda, Inlyta cancer combo [Pharma Times] The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has released a draft guidance rejecting MSD’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) when used in combo with Pfizer’s Inlyta (axitinib) to treat advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
	5.2.6 PHARMA - BIOTECH
Revolution Medicines IPO Reels In $238M to Take On RAS in Cancer [Xconomy] Revolution’s most advanced drug candidate, RMC-4630, blocks a protein in the RAS signaling pathway called SHP2. That drug is currently in Phase 1/2 testing under a partnership with Sanofi.
	5.4 TRAITEMENTS - ECONOMIE
Two skin cancer treatments get the green light for NHS Scotland [Cancer Research UK] Cemiplimab (Libtayo) will provide a new treatment option for advanced melanoma, while the immunotherapy drug encorafenib (Braftovi) will be used to treat some people with a type of non melanoma skin cancer.
	6.1 OBSERVATION
Errors in determination of net survival: cause-specific and relative survival settings [British Journal of Cancer] Results agreed with the consensus that relative survival is usually preferable. However, for some cancers, relative survival might be inaccurate (e.g. lung and prostate).
	6.7.1 IA/BIOINFORMATIQUE
ORNL researchers develop ‘multitasking’ AI tool to extract cancer data in record time [Oak Ridge National Lab] To better leverage cancer data for research, scientists at ORNL are developing an artificial intelligence-based natural language processing tool to improve information extraction from textual pathology reports.