Onco Actu du 2 mars 2020

	2. ETIOLOGIE
Genetic ‘fingerprints’ implicate gut bacterium in bowel cancer [University of Leeds] This research was funded by Cancer Research UK as part of a £20 million Cancer Research UK Grand Challenge award, with sequencing data provided by Genomics England, and is published in Nature today.
Common toxin made in gut can cause bowel cancer, scientists find [The Guardian The breakthrough suggests that thousands of cases of the disease might be prevented, or at least delayed, by screening for the strain and eradicating the bug in those who test positive. The treatment could involve a course of antibiotics followed by a faecal transplant to re-establish a healthy microbiome.
	3.3 PRÉVENTION - VACCINS
The High Risk Methods of a New Systematic Review of HPV Vaccines [Absolutely Maybe] The authors were critical of the core of the Cochrane review’s methodology – reviewing only published articles about trials and leaving out unpublished clinical study reports (CSRs) in the first version. They did the opposite in their own review: they left out the published articles (except for a couple of follow-up studies).
	4. DÉPISTAGE, DIAGNOSTIC ET PRONOSTIC
New Approach Uses Much Less Tissue to Analyze Tumor Proteins and Genes [NCI] To see how their refashioned approach for proteogenomic analysis might work in a real-world situation, the researchers tested it on tumor samples from women diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer who were undergoing treatment with trastuzumab.
	4.10 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - POUMON
Screening for Lung Cancer — 10 States, 2017 [CDC] In 10 states, one in eight persons aged 55–80 years met USPSTF criteria, and, among those meeting USPSTF criteria, only one in eight reported a lung cancer screening exam in the last 12 months.
Carl Heneghan and Jeffrey Aronson: Interpreting lung cancer screening studies [BMJ] Reductions in lung cancer mortality rates and a shift to earlier detection of disease create considerable pressures to implement lung cancer screening. We should, however, pause before considering implementation, because of the lack of effect on all-cause mortality in NELSON, the problems of false positives and overdiagnosis, potential biases, the substantial resources required, and the economic costs.
	5.1 TRAITEMENTS - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
New chemo combo shows promise versus pancreatic cancer [Cornell] The study, published Feb. 27 in Cancer Cell, found that palbociclib may stop pancreatic cancer cells from repairing DNA damage caused by chemotherapy; that DNA damage is what causes the cancer cells to die. This result suggests that chemotherapy drugs used for pancreatic cancer, such as paclitaxel, should be given first, followed by palbociclib.
	5.10 TRAITEMENTS - ESSAIS
UC research: Under reporting of data on the outcomes among older adults in cancer clinical trials [University of Cincinnati] “When we finally finished analyzing all of the articles, we found the evidence on how you treat older adults with cancer is terrible,” says BrintzenhofeSzoc. “There’s no evidence-based guidelines, which goes against the current focus on precision and evidence-based medicine to help treat older adults with cancer.”
	5.12.1 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PARTENARIATS
Boehringer taps Trutino to bag safer, more efficacious cytokines [Fierce Biotech] Trutino is one of a number of research outfits that wants to unlock the therapeutic potential of cytokines by targeting the activity of the proteins to the tumor microenvironment, thereby avoiding dose-limiting toxicities.
Boehringer Ingelheim Enters Discovery Stage Collaboration with Trutino Biosciences to Grow Its Cancer Immunology Portfolio with Novel Cytokine Platform [Boehringer Ingelheim] The partners aim to develop safer, more tolerable and more effective cytokine therapies for single agent and novel combinations with Boehringer Ingelheim’s innovative cancer vaccine, oncolytic virus, T cell engager and myeloid-targeting therapies.
	5.12.11 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - PRÉ-CLINIQUE
NIH, Tuskegee Researchers Develop Potential New Type of Immunotherapy Across Cancers and Many Other Diseases [NIH] When Rudloff and his colleagues at NCI gave RP-182 and chemotherapy or another immune therapy to mice with pancreatic cancer, those mice exhibited fewer signs of the disease. These results suggested the possibility of combining this type of therapy with other treatments, including other immunotherapies.
High doses of vitamin C found to enhance immunotherapy in combating cancer in mice [Medical XPress] The researchers note that the major hurdle standing in the way of using vitamin C to treat human cancer patients is the possibility of side effects. They note that they gave the test mice the amount of vitamin C in a single orange every day for several days. Translating that to humans would mean giving the equivalent of 2000 oranges every day for a period of time.
Nanosize Device ‘Uncloaks’ Cancer Cells in Mice And Reveals Them to The Immune System [Johns Hopkins] "We are developing this system as an 'off-the-shelf' therapy that can induce a personalized systemic anti-tumor response without needing to know the specific genetic makeup of the tumor beforehand."
	5.12.3 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES-COMBINAISONS
Combined therapy may improve clinical responses for endometrial, colorectal and gastric tumors [MD Anderson Cancer Center] A study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discovered a novel therapeutic vulnerability for patients who have tumors caused by a genetic misfire in the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) pathway, a system for repairing genetic aberrations. Study findings were published in the Feb. 27 online issue of Cancer Cell.
	5.2 PHARMA
Lilly's Cyramza wins narrow thumbs-up from FDA advisers for Tarceva combo in lung cancer [Fierce Pharma] In a less-than-ringing endorsement, FDA advisers voted Wednesday 6-5 in favor of approving Eli Lilly’s Cyramza plus Roche’s Tarceva in previously untreated EGFR-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
AbbVie Provides Update from Phase 3 Study Evaluating VENCLEXTA® (venetoclax) in Combination with Low-Dose Cytarabine in Newly-Diagnosed Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) [AbbVie] Study did not demonstrate statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of overall survival.
	5.2.2 PHARMA - FUSIONS & ACQUISITIONS
Gilead hungry for 'don't eat me' cancer biotech: reports [Fierce Biotech] The biotech’s approach is blocking CD47, which in turn switches off the signals cancer cells use to avoid being attacked by the immune system: i.e., "don’t eat me."
A name emerges out of the Gilead M&A rumor mill, and it’s a cancer biotech [EndPoints] A California-based immuno-oncology company, Forty Seven builds drugs that target CD47, a molecule often known as the “don’t eat me signal” and that cancer cells use to avoid the immune system.
	5.2.6 PHARMA - BIOTECH
FDA Grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation For Debiopharm’s Novel Chemo-Radio Sensitizer DEBIO 1143 For Front-Line Treatment Of Head & Neck Cancer [Debiopharm] The FDA decision was based on the compelling magnitude of the clinically phase II findings in combination with chemo-radiotherapy presented in September 2019 at the ESMO congress (European Society for Medical Oncology).
FDA taps chemoradio-sensitizing head and neck cancer drug as 'breakthrough' [EndPoints] While Debiopharm is positioning the drug as a chemoradio-sensitizer here, it contends that blocking IAP — which prevents programmed cell death — can also have immunomodulatory effects.
Turning focus to clinical work, Verastem axes 31 jobs, scales back cancer drug promotion after disappointing sales [EndPoints] Verastem has always offered low expectations for Copiktra, a PI3 kinase inhibitor with a checkered history, but execs may finally be realizing a full-year revenue of $12.3 million, coupled with waning demand from Q3 to Q4, is just not going to cut it.
	5.3 TRAITEMENTS - FDA, EMA,...
Meeting highlights from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) 24-27 February 2020 [EMA] The Committee also started a review of the cancer medicine Yondelis (trabectedin), used to treat ovarian cancer and soft-tissue sarcoma (a type of cancer that develops from the soft, supporting tissues of the body).
	5.4.1 TRAITEMENTS - ECONOMIE - NICE
‘Chemotherapy-free’ treatment for lymphoma made available for NHS use in England [Cancer Research UK] While the trial didn’t compare the lenalidomide combination to rituximab and chemotherapy, indirect comparisons suggest that the lenalidomide combination would improve survival compared to the chemotherapy-containing option.
NICE recommends new ‘chemotherapy-free’ treatment for lymphoma [NICE] Lenalidomide has been recommended for use with rituximab (MabThera, Roche), an anti-CD20 antibody that sticks to cancer cells to help the immune system recognise and kill them.
UK follicular lymphoma patients set to get non-chemotherapy therapy as NICE backs Revlimid combo [EndPoints] Revlimid, which generated roughly $9.4 billion in global 2019 sales, has long been Celgene’s keystone treatment, but until recently its use in England had been restrained due to pricing disagreements.
	6.3 ASSOCIATIONS/FONDATIONS
New European Partnerships to Accelerate Cancer Research [Cancer Research UK] Projects include investigating how to best combine radiotherapy with the latest immunotherapies, and refocussing research efforts on mesothelioma, an asbestos related cancer, cases of which continue to rise globally.
	6.7.1 IA/BIOINFORMATIQUE
Two Tribes [In The Pipeline] I remember hearing, years back, a prediction that over time every medicinal chemist would just naturally have computational chemistry as part of their tool kit, and that distinction between the tribes would disappear. Hasn’t happened.
	6.7.3 DMP
To Measure The Burden Of EHR Use, Audit Logs Offer Promise—But Not Without Further Collaboration [Health Affairs] Our work revealed the complexity of the burden associated with EHR use and the difficulty of using audit-log data to create measures that would distinguish burdensome activities from valuable ones.