Recently adopted names for antitumoral compounds (July 2013) - Noms d’antitumoraux adoptés récemment (juillet 2013)

Name (nom)	Code name	Type	Target(s)
Futuximab	992DS, SYM004	Monoclonal antibody	EGFR
Muparfostat	PI-88	oligosaccharide	VEGF, FGF-1, FGF-2

Press Review (July 13, 2013) – Revue de presse (13 juillet 2013)

Study finds inverse link between cancer, Alzheimer's

In a small bit of good news for people with terrible diagnoses, having cancer appears to protect against getting Alzheimer's disease -- and vice versa.

By Karen Weintraub. In USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/10/alzheimers-cancer-research/2505977/

Protein Targeted for Cancer Drug Development Is Essential for Normal Heart Function

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have discovered that a protein used by cancer cells to evade death also plays a vital role in heart health. This dual role complicates efforts to develop cancer drugs that target the protein, but may lead to new therapies for heart muscle damage. The research appeared in the June 15 edition of the scientific journal Genes & Development.

In Science Daily (press release)                       

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130710183644.htm

Sequestration Cuts To Research 'Like A Slowly Growing Cancer'

Research leaders at some of the top American universities have held an annual gathering in Washington the last four years to discuss science, technology, and how federal policies have hampered or fostered both.

By Sam Stein. In Huffington Post                      

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/sequestration-cuts-research_n_3576030.html

Location of Body Fat Can Elevate Heart Disease, Cancer Risk

Individuals with excessive abdominal fat have a greater risk of heart disease and cancer than individuals with a similar body mass index (BMI) who carry their fat in other areas of the body, according to a study published online today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

In Science Daily (press release)                       

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130710182944.htm

Prostate Cancer Treatment, Enzalutamide, Offers New Hope To Men, Study Reveals

A hi-tech prostate cancer drug that offers hope to men who have run out of treatment options became available in the UK on Thursday. Enzalutamide is licensed for patients with advanced prostate cancer who are no longer responding to hormone treatments or chemotherapy. Data from a major trial showed that the new pill, costing around £2,500 a month, can extend the lives of patients no longer being treated by almost five months.

In Huffington Post UK

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/11/prostate-cancer-treatment-men-enzalutamide_n_3578299.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

Cancer du sein : l ' Avastin déconseillé

Le Centre Fédéral d’Expertise des Soins de Santé (KCE) recommande désormais d’arrêter l’utilisation du médicament Avastin utilisé dans le traitement du cancer du sein métastatique. Bien loin des résultats escomptés, ce médicament provoquerait des effets indésirables importants.

Dans Le Vif

http://www.levif.be/info/actualite/sante/cancer-du-sein-l-avastin-deconseille/article-4000345905231.htm

Japon : le directeur de la centrale de Fukushima succombe à un cancer

Masao Yoshida, l'homme qui a mené les opérations d'urgence visant à stabiliser la centrale nucléaire de Fukushima au Japon, est mort mardi d'un cancer de l'oesophage. Il avait 58 ans

Dans Radio-Canada

http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/International/2013/07/09/014-fukushima-deces-directeur-aucun-lien-radiations-tepco.shtml

Anticancer molecules (108) – Molécules anticancéreuses (108) - ENZALUTAMIDE

ENZALUTAMIDE

Name: Enzalutamide

Commercial name: Xtandi

Pharmacological class: androgen receptor inhibitor

Therapeutic class: antineoplastic

Action: enzalutamide is an orally bioavailable, organic, non-steroidal small molecule targeting the androgen receptor (AR) with potential antineoplastic activity. Through a mechanism that is reported to be different from other approved AR antagonists, enzalutamide inhibits the activity of prostate cancer cell ARs, which may result in a reduction in prostate cancer cell proliferation.

In 2012, enzalutamide is approved:

● for treatment of prostate cancer that has metastasized. It is used in patients who have already been treated with docetaxel and whose disease has not responded to treatments that lower testosterone levels.

***

Nom: Enzalutamide

Nom commercial: Xtandi

Classe pharmacologique: inhibitor du récepteur d’androgènes

Classe thérapeutique: antinéoplasiques

Action: l’enzalutamide est une petite molécule organique, non-stéroide, biodisponible oralement, ciblant le récepteur des androgènes (AR) avec une activité antinéoplasique potentielle. Grâce à un mécanisme qui apparaît différent de celui des autres antagonistes de l’AR approuvés, l’enzalutamide inhibe l'activité des ARs de cellules cancéreuses de la prostate, ce qui peut entraîner une réduction de la prolifération de ces cellules.

.

En 2012, l’enzalutamide est approuvé:

● pour le traitement du cancer de la prostate métastatique, chez les patients qui ont déjà été traités par le docetaxel  et dont la maladie ne répond pas à la diminution du taux de testosterone.

Press Review (July 6, 2013) – Revue de presse (6 juillet 2013)

New marker substance for cancer cells

Scientists from ETH Zurich have developed a new substance that enables certain tumour types to be rendered visible in high resolution using positron emission tomography. The so-called tracer has successfully been tested in mice. Now the researchers are planning clinical trials in humans.

In Medical Xpress

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-07-marker-substance-cancer-cells.html

MicroRNA Drives Both Cancer Onset and Metastasis

A mere 25 years ago, noncoding RNAs were considered nothing more than "background noise" in the overall genomic landscape. Now, two new studies reveal that one of these tiny noncoding molecules -- microRNA-22 -- plays an outsized role in two types of cancer.

In Science Daily (press release)                       

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130703140242.htm

Cancer-linked FAM190A gene found to regulate cell division

Johns Hopkins cancer scientists have discovered that a little-described gene known as FAM190A plays a subtle but critical role in regulating the normal cell division process known as mitosis, and the scientists' research suggests that mutations in the gene may contribute to commonly found chromosomal instability in cancer.

In EurekAlert (press release)                            

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-07/jhm-cfg070313.php

Gene That Controls Aggressiveness in Breast Cancer Cells Identified

In a discovery that sheds new light on the aggressiveness of certain breast cancers, Whitehead Institute researchers have identified a transcription factor, known as ZEB1, that is capable of converting non-aggressive basal-type cancer cells into highly malignant, tumor-forming cancer stem cells (CSCs). Intriguingly, luminal breast cancer cells, which are associated with a much better clinical prognosis, carry this gene in a state in which it seems to be permanently shut down.

In Science Daily (press release)                       

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130703120557.htm

Immune-Boosting Colorectal Cancer Drug Shows Promise

New data on an emerging treatment that aims to fight colorectal cancer by stimulating the immune system have been presented at the ESMO 15th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer.

In Science Daily (press release)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130703101016.htm

Cancer : la radiothérapie entre au bloc

Radiophysicienne à l'hôpital Saint-Louis, à Paris, Ramona Itti pousse la console de radiothérapie mobile jusqu'à l'ascenseur. Direction le deuxième étage. Il est près de midi, ce jour de mai. La météo en berne n'affecte guère le moral des troupes : dans la salle aveugle du bloc chirurgical, les murs ont été blindés par vingt centimètres de béton ; les portes, par une fine couche de plomb. Une sécurité imposée par la réglementation française, et dûment contrôlée par l'Autorité de sûreté nucléaire (ASN).

Par Florence Rosier. Dans Le Monde

http://www.lemonde.fr/sante/article/2013/07/01/cancer-la-radiotherapie-entre-au-bloc_3439899_1651302.html

Cancer professionnel : la difficile question de la reconnaissance

D’après des chiffres parus en 2003, le travail aurait été responsable de 11.000 à 23.000 cancers en France. Tous ne sont cependant pas reconnus comme tel. La question de la causalité reste souvent délicate à déterminer. Mais pourquoi ?

Par Janlou Chaput. Dans Futura Sciences

http://www.futura-sciences.com/magazines/sante/infos/actu/d/medecine-cancer-professionnel-difficile-question-reconnaissance-47428/

Focus: Histone H4 lysine 20 methylation: key player in epigenetic regulation of genomic integrity

Maintenance of genomic integrity is essential to ensure normal organismal development and to prevent diseases such as cancer. Nuclear DNA is packaged into chromatin, and thus genome maintenance can be influenced by distinct chromatin environments. In particular, post-translational modifications of histones have emerged as key regulators of genomic integrity. Intense research during the past few years has revealed histone H4 lysine 20 methylation (H4K20me) as critically important for the biological processes that ensure genome integrity, such as DNA damage repair, DNA replication and chromatin compaction. The distinct H4K20 methylation states are mediated by SET8/PR-Set7 that catalyses monomethylation of H4K20, whereas SUV4-20H1 and SUV4-20H2 enzymes mediate further H4K20 methylation to H4K20me2 and H4K20me3. Disruption of these H4K20-specific histone methyltransferases leads to genomic instability, demonstrating the important functions of H4K20 methylation in genome maintenance. In this review, we explain molecular mechanisms underlying these defects and discuss novel ideas for furthering our understanding of genome maintenance in higher eukaryotes.

Source: H4 lysine 20 methylation: key player in epigenetic regulation of genomic integrity. Jorgensen S, Schotta G, Sørensen CS. Nucleic Acids Res. 2013 Mar 1;41(5):2797-806.

Free paper available at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3597678/pdf/gkt012.pdf

Focus : Chemoimmunotherapy: reengineering tumor immunity

Cancer chemotherapy drugs have long been considered immune suppressive. However, more recent data indicate that some cytotoxic drugs effectively treat cancer in part by facilitating an immune response to the tumor when given at the standard dose and schedule. These drugs induce a form of tumor cell death that is immunologically active, thereby inducing an adaptive immune response specific for the tumor. In addition, cancer chemotherapy drugs can promote tumor immunity through ancillary and largely unappreciated immunologic effects on both the malignant and normal host cells present within the tumor microenvironment. These more subtle immunomodulatory effects are dependent on the drug itself, its dose, and its schedule in relation to an immune-based intervention. The recent approvals of two new immune-based therapies for prostate cancer and melanoma herald a new era in cancer treatment and have led to heightened interest in immunotherapy as a valid approach to cancer treatment. A detailed understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of interactions between chemotherapy drugs and the immune system is essential for devising the optimal strategy for integrating new immune-based therapies into the standard of care for various cancers, resulting in the greatest long-term clinical benefit for cancer patients.

Source: Chemoimmunotherapy: reengineering tumor immunity. Chen G, Emens LA. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2013 Feb;62(2):203-16.

Free paper available at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3608094/

Recently adopted names for antitumoral compounds (May & June 2013) - Noms d’antitumoraux adoptés récemment (mai & juin 2013)

Name (nom)	Code name	Type	Target(s)
Idelalisib	GS-1101, CAL-101	Synthetic small molecule	PI3K
Buparlisib	BKM120-NX, BKM-120	Synthetic small molecule	PI3K
Dasiprotimut-T	Biovax ID	Cancer vaccine
Ontuxizumab		Monoclonal antibody	TEM-1
Parsatuzumab	RG-7414, MEGF-0444A	Monoclonal antibody	EGFL-7
Topsalysin	PRX302, PRX-302	Prostate specific antigen (PSA)-activated pore-forming protein toxin	Tumor cells
Vedotin	PAB-MMAE	ADC component for monoclonal antibody	Tubulin