Onco Actu du 16 mars 2020

	4.1 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - PROSTATE
Prostate Cancer Detection From Urine RNA, Metabolites Shows Promise [Genome Web] Interestingly, RNA alone was not enough to distinguish cancer from non-cancer samples. According to the authors, the 3,825 RNA transcripts that they detected in their initial 20 samples "readily but not perfectly" segregated between the normal and PCa groups.
	4.12 BIOPSIES LIQUIDES
Liquid Biopsy Assays Targeting More Patient-Specific Mutations Improve Recurrence Prediction [Genome Web] Researchers from the Broad Institute and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute published their findings today in Clinical Cancer Research, describing a method they developed to monitor individualized panels of up to hundreds of different cancer mutations in blood samples.
Blood biopsies offer early warning of cancer’s return [Harvard Gazette] The team designed custom blood biopsy tests for individual patients based on the DNA sequence of each patient’s tumor. The researchers then conducted a retrospective analysis, looking for tumor DNA in banked blood samples from breast cancer patients who had been diagnosed, treated, and monitored for disease recurrence over the last 13 years.
	4.2 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - GÉNOME
DNA tests grow more vital in hereditary breast cancer treatments. They also raise unanswerable questions. [Washington Post] Gene sequencing can provide important information to patients and their families, but worries increase when mutations of unknown significance are found.
	5.12.2 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - CAR-T, THÉRAPIES CELLULAIRES
Novartis sidesteps Europe travel ban to provide CAR-T drug Kymriah to patients [Fierce Pharma] Novartis has the Kymriah manufacturing process down to about three weeks, but any delay can affect treatment.
Novartis secures alternate options for Kymriah shipments after Europe travel ban [Reuters] Novartis has been shipping immune cells from European cancer patients receiving its so-called CAR-T therapy for re-engineering at one of its laboratories in New Jersey. The modified T cells are then sent back to Europe, for re-infusion into patients.
	5.12.5 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PHARMA
Pfizer, Merck KGaA’s Bavencio skewered by Javelin in head and neck cancer [Fierce Pharma] Pfizer and Merck KGaA aren’t giving up on the PD-L1 med’s potential in head and neck cancer. The alliance is testing Bavencio in different immuno-oncology combinations in the Javelin Medley trial.
	5.12.6 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - AMM
FDA Grants Accelerated Approval to Nivolumab and Ipilimumab Combination for Hepatocellular Carcinoma [ESMO] Evidence for efficacy is based on the results from the CHECKMATE-040 study.
	5.2 PHARMA
New uncommon EGFR mutations database published featuring clinical outcomes of NSCLC patients treated with afatinib [Boehringer Ingelheim] Pooled analysis of 693 NSCLC patient cases published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO) supports the use of afatinib against the most prevalent uncommon EGFR mutations.
	5.3 TRAITEMENTS - FDA, EMA,...
Inappropriate use of progression-free survival in cancer drug approvals [BMJ] New drugs should be judged on overall survival or quality of life, preferably both.
	6. LUTTE CONTRE LES CANCERS
Is your cancer center ready for COVID-19? [The Cancer Letter] The Cancer Letter spoke with leaders at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles, and Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University to gauge the impact of coronavirus.
COVID-19 and the cancer patient: A call to action for balancing cancer care and viral risk [The Cancer Letter] Given the specialized needs of cancer patients, it is imperative to consider how we, as the major cancer centers, may address and communicate how the impact of COVID-19 could impact the timing and delivery of cancer care, and to communicate this information to cancer patients.
	6.1 OBSERVATION
Rise in breast cancer fueled by more than later pregnancy, lower birth rate [UPI] "Many have assumed that the increase in early onset breast cancer has mainly been driven by changes in reproductive patterns," co-author Mary Beth Terry, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, told UPI. "Our paper shows that that may not be the case, that there has to be other things going on."