Onco Actu du 30 mars 2020

	1.1 BIOLOGIE - GÉNOME
Study shows recurrent alterations in prostate cancer in Chinese patients differ from those in the west [Medical Xpress] In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes conducting transcriptomic, epigenomic and genomic analyses of prostate cancer tissue in patients in China and compared what they found with data from cancer patients in the west—and what they discovered as a result.
	2. ETIOLOGIE
A mutational signature that can be made by a bacterium arises in human colon cancer [Nature] Studies have pointed to a link between colon cancer and a gut bacterium that produces DNA-damaging molecules. The discovery of a mutational signature linked to these bacteria in human colon cancer supports this association.
	5.12 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES
New drugs that unleash the immune system on cancers may backfire, fueling tumor growth [Science] Despite accumulating papers and anecdotal reports of such tumor "hyper-progression," some cancer researchers wonder whether it is simply an illusion—whether the patients' tumors were destined to grow rapidly even before checkpoint inhibitor treatment.
	5.12.6 IMMUNOTHÉRAPIES - AMM
AstraZeneca gets a green light on Imfinzi for small-cell lung cancer — setting the stage for a battle with Roche's Tecentriq [EndPoints] The approval was based on the results of the late-stage, 805 patient-CASPIAN trial, which tested Imfinzi plus standard-of-care chemotherapy, or Imfinzi and chemotherapy with the addition of AstraZeneca’s in-house CTLA-4 drug tremelimumab, versus chemotherapy alone.
Imfinzi approved in the US for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer [AstraZeneca] Only PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy to demonstrate a significant survival benefit in combination with etoposide and a choice of carboplatin or cisplatin chemotherapy.
AstraZeneca's lung cancer treatment gets FDA nod [Reuters] The combo treatment has been approved in the United States for adult patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, the company said.
	5.17 TRAITEMENTS - RADIOTHÉRAPIE
How Should Radiation Oncologists Manage Prostate Cancer Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic? [University of Michigan] A new framework from an international team of experts aims to help protect patients and providers, and conserve protective equipment for frontline health care workers.
	6.15 LUTTE CONTRE LES CANCERS - COVID-19
For CAR-T, coronavirus brings uneven impact to studies, treatment [Biopharma Dive] Dozens of clinical studies are affected by the health system disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Cell therapy trials could be particularly vulnerable, however, as they require extensive patient screening and, for some, the collection of patients' own immune cells.
AVEO Oncology and Biodesix to Discontinue CyFi-2 Study of Ficlatuzumab in Relapsed and Refractory AML in Response to Public Health Crisis [Aveo] This decision is being taken due to the urgent shift among clinical sites toward efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, which has impacted the feasibility of completing the study within the shelf-life of the current ficlatuzumab clinical trial supply.
Should Cancer Treatment Be Continued During the Pandemic? A Case-by-Case Discussion Is Required [ESMO] Are cancer patients more at risk of COVID-19? This is a difficult question because evidence collected so far is not robust.
Coronavirus shuts down trials of drugs for multiple other diseases [Nature] Studies grind to a halt as fears of health-care shortages and risk of exposure put the brakes on clinical research.
	6.6 PUBLICATIONS, POLITIQUES SCIENTIFIQUES
Boosting the signal in scientific talks [Nature] A few modest adjustments to the planning and delivery of talks can help scientists share ideas with their peers more effectively.