Onco Actu du 26 mars 2020

	4.12 BIOPSIES LIQUIDES
AI program could check blood for signs of lung cancer [The Guardian] The software is experimental and needs to be verified in a clinical trial, but doctors are hopeful that if it proves its worth at scale, it will boost lung cancer screening rates by making the procedure as simple as a routine blood test.
	4.15 DÉP., DIAG. & PRONO. - IMAGERIE
Artificial intelligence versus clinicians: systematic review of design, reporting standards, and claims of deep learning studies in medical imaging [BMJ] Few prospective deep learning studies and randomised trials exist in medical imaging. Most non-randomised trials are not prospective, are at high risk of bias, and deviate from existing reporting standards. Data and code availability are lacking in most studies, and human comparator groups are often small.
	5. TRAITEMENTS
Astra, Daiichi's Enhertu shows early promise in HER2 lung cancer [Fierce Biotech] The drug was tested in a small phase 1 study that enrolled 60 previously treated patients with HER2-overexpressing cancers outside of the breast and stomach or HER2-mutant cancers. Enhertu shrank tumors in 28.3% of subjects and staved off cancer for a median of 7.2 months; patients lived a median 23.4 months.
HER2-targeted Therapy Trastuzumab Deruxtecan Shows Early Promise in Patients with Non-breast and Non-gastric Cancers [AACR] A HER2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate, fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu), showed signs of clinical activity in multiple non-breast/non-gastric cancer types, according to results from a phase I study published in Cancer Discovery.
Health of Gut Microbes May Affect Survival after Stem Cell Transplant [NCI] In the new study, people whose gut microbiome became less diverse after their transplant had a higher risk of death from any cause in the weeks following treatment.
Lung cancer therapy may improve outcomes of metastatic brain cancer [EurekAlert!] Published today in JAMA Network Open, the research hones in on osimertinib, a treatment recently approved in North America as a therapy for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with a specific mutation.
	5.12.5.1 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - BIOTECH
China biotech Laekna snaps up Novartis PD-L1 cancer therapy [Fierce Biotech] While all the rage seems to be focused on cell and gene therapies these days, Shanghai-based biotech Laekna Therapeutics still believes in the power of checkpoint inhibitors.
	5.2.4 PHARMA - BEIGENE
BeiGene's supply of Bristol Myers Squibb's Abraxane freezes in China amid Fresenius Kabi plant woes [Fierce Pharma] It’s not very often you hear about manufacturing problems at Western facilities slammed by Chinese authorities. But it just happened to a key cancer drug that involves three big industry names, threatening a $100-million-a-year business.
China halts import of Bristol Myers cancer drug after inspection at US plant [Biopharma Dive] The Chinese drugmaker said it's working with Bristol Myers to fix the situation as "quickly as possible." Bristol Myers is also applying to the China National Medical Products Administration for permission to source Abraxane from an alternate drug plant.
BeiGene scrambles to find new Abraxane supplier as Chinese inspectors order halt on imports, citing Bristol Myers failure [EndPoints] BeiGene did not explain what the Chinese officials found in the inspection that caused the problems for Abraxane. But the company said it’s scrambling to find another supplier for the drug, which it licensed from Celgene.
China suspends Bristol-Myers' cancer drug sales over findings at U.S. plant [Reuters] “This decision only applies to the China market and does not impact our ability to supply Abraxane outside of China,” Bristol-Myers said in an emailed statement.
	5.3.4 TRAITEMENTS - AMM (FDA, EMA,...)
Merck KGaA beats out Novartis with targeted lung cancer nod for Tepmetko in Japan [Fierce Pharma] The ministry based its decision on data from the phase 2 Vision study, which showed Tepmetko could provoke a response in 42.4% of patients. Those who responded saw their benefits last for a median 12.4 months.
In two-way race with Novartis, Merck scores first regulatory approval for targeted lung cancer drug [EndPoints] The Japanese decision clears tepotinib as both a first and later-line therapy and means it will be the first of the two drugs to reach patients. Novartis, though, has the lead on US approval.
	6.15 LUTTE CONTRE LES CANCERS - COVID-19
Cancer drug trials on hold amid coronavirus disruption [Nature] Studies on dozens of other diseases grind to a halt as fears of health-care shortages and risk of exposure put the brakes on clinical research.
The Blind Leading the Blind: COVID-19, Cancer, and the Need for More Data [ASCO Daily News] Despite the presence of 1,518 publications on COVID-19 in a literature search at the time of this writing, no robust data on COVID-19 and the treatment of patients with cancer exists.
SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in Patients With Cancer at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Wuhan, China [JAMA Oncology] We propose that aggressive measures be undertaken to reduce frequency of hospital visits of patients with cancer during a viral epidemic going forward.