01. January
Big Data
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) announced the first public release of cancer genomic data aggregated through its initiative known as GENIE (Genomics Evidence Neoplasia Information Exchange). This largest public genomic data sets includes 19,000 de-identified genomic records collected from patients who were treated at eight international institutions from 59 cancer types.
En savoir plusSkin toxicity detected by Raman spectrometry
In a pilot study, Lluis MIR team (UMR8203 CNRS/Paris Sud University) demonstrates the power of Raman spectroscopy, a non-invasive and label-free optical technique, to detect skin toxicity in patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors at levels not detectable via dermatological inspection and histological evaluation.
Azan A et al., Cancer Research (2017) Jan 15; 77 (2): 557-565.
AMMICa platform
SEAT (Transgenic animal Service) from CNRS is a new AMMICa platform associated with PFEP (experimental preclinical platform) at Gustave Roussy. SEAT offers various services for transgenesis: classical, targeted (knock-in and knock-out) by homologous recombination or CRISPR, microinjection, etc.
Architectural heterogeneity in non-del(5q) MDS
Olivier BERNARD group (UMR1170 INSERM/Paris Sud University), in collaboration with CNRS, INSERM and AP-HP researchers, investigated the clonal architecture of the hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPC) compartment to understand phenotypic heterogeneity of MDS non-del(5q). They found that genetic heterogeneity arises within the stem cell and committed progenitor compartments with retention of a dominant subclone. Clonal selection in lineage-committed progenitors contributes to the phenotypic heterogeneity of MDS and may drive the transformation to acute myeloid leukemia.
Chesnais V et al. Blood (2017), Jan 26 ; 129 (4) : 484-96.
"Chevalier de la légion d’honneur" nomination
1 january 2017: Fabien CALVO, PU-PH and Eric SOLARY, PU-PH are nominated by the French government as "Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur" respectively by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESRI) and the Ministère de la Fonction Publique (MFP).
02. February
JAK mutations as escape mechanisms to anti-PD1 treatment
As shown by authors from DITEP, INSERM UMR1015 and UMR981/Paris Sud, JAK1/2 inactivating mutations could be one of the primary escape mechanisms to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy via impaired IFNγ signaling in cancer cells and could be used to identify patients unlikely to benefit from these treatments.
Marabelle A et al. Cancer Discovery (2017) feb; 7(2):128-30 (spotlight).
Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize
Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research is biennially attributed to a scientist who has made extraordinary contributions to basic oncological research. In 2017, co-laureates were Laurence ZITVOGEL and Guido KROEMER for their contributions in the influence of the immune system on the development and treatment of cancer.
Annual Cuba Academy of Sciences award
The annual Cuba Academy of Sciences award in Biomedical sciences was attributed jointly to Eric LE CAM (UMR8126 CNRS), Jean-Rémi BERTRAND (UMR8203 CNRS) and Bernard LOPEZ (UMR8200 CNRS) for their esearch project entitled "New biohybrid materials as nano-carriers of nucleic acids and their biotechnological applications".
03. March
ETO2-GLIS2 oncoprotein functions in AML7
Previously, Thomas MERCHER team identified the ETO2-GLIS2 fusion in about 30% pediatric megakaryoblastic leukemia (LAM7). The team now shows that the ETO2-GLIS2 fusion encodes an oncoprotein found in de novo LAM7. The megakaryocytic identity is conferred via the GLIS2 moiety, but both ETO2 and GLIS2 domains are required to drive self-renewal. Disruption of ETO2-GLIS2 oligomerization by a peptide inhibits the maintenance of ETO2-GLIS2 positive human AMKL blasts upon engraftment.
Thirant C et al. Cancer Cell (2017) march 13 ; 31(3) :452-465
TAT 2017
15th international congress on Targeted Anticancer Therapies (TAT), 6-8 March 2017, Paris. Co-organized by Jean-Charles Soria and co-sponsored by SIRIC-SOCRATE, TAT is an annual meeting on new molecular targets and innovative cancer therapeutics in the early phases of clinical development.
04. April
MOSCATO (MOlecular Screening for CAncer Treatment Optimization)
Gustave Roussy/ INSERM/ Paris-Sud teams demonstrate that the analysis of the molecular portrait of a tumor allows identification of appropriate therapy and improves the prognosis of patients with cancer. The MOSCATO study suggests that high-throughput genomic analyses may improve outcomes in patients with advanced cancers.
Massard C et al. Cancer Discov 2017, 7:128-130
20th Gustave Roussy research meeting, April 20-21, 2017, Tours
170 clinicians, researchers, engineers, technicians, postdocs and PhD students from Gustave Roussy have met in an informal atmosphere to discuss researches conducted on-site.
05. May
8th Roger Monier meeting, May 9, 2017, Curie Institut, Paris
This meeting, co-sponsored by Gustave Roussy and Institut Curie focuses on a forefront issues in cancer biology "Determinants of anticancer therapy". Lectures were given by William SELLERS, Boston, USA; Jessica ZUCMAN-ROSSI, Paris; Cathrin BRISKEN, Lausanne; Martine PICCART, Bruxelles.
IDH1/2 mutations
Somatic gain-of-function mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenases (IDH) 1/2 are found in different tumor types, including glioblastoma and hematologic malignancies. In collaboration with Agios Pharmaceuticals, Virginie PENARD-LACRONIQUE group (UMR1170 INSERM/Paris Sud University) shows that the targeted inhibitor AG-221 (Enasidenib) suppresses the mutant IDH2 enzyme 2-HG in multiple preclinical models and induces differentiation of malignant blasts, supporting its clinical development.
Yen K et al. Cancer Discov. (2017) may; 7(5);478-93.
Liquid biopsy to determine a treatment efficacy
This work conducted by Françoise FARACE and her team (AMMICa) shows that the variation in the number of circulating tumor cells carrying ALK gene rearrangement in two blood samples - before and 2 months after the start of a standard treatment with crizotinib - can predict the efficacy of treatment in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
Pailler E et al. Cancer Res. (2017), may 1 ; 77(9) :2222-2230.
Hematopoiesis –Leukemogenesis
In collaboration with the Sloan-Kettering and Dana-Farber Cancer Institutes, Eric SOLARY group (UMR1170 INSERM/Paris Sud University) reveals that ASXL2 (mammalian additional sex combs-like) protein is a critical regulator of hematopoiesis and mediates transcriptional effects that promote leukemogenesis driven by AML1-ETO.
Micol JB et al. Nat. Commun. (2017), may 18 ; 8 :15429
Jens Overgaard Legacy Award
Jean-Pierre PIGNON and Pierre BLANCHARD (Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Radiotherapy and Oncology departments) received the Jens Overgaard Legacy Award for their meta-analyses of chemotherapy in head and neck cancers (MACH-NC).
An exceptional concert
May 24, salle Gaveau in Paris, 3 renowned artists (Patricia PETIBON, Didier LOCKWOOD and Susan MANOFF) performed in an exceptional concert with a financial support from Roche, Natixis, Accor Hotels and Astrazeneca for the benefit of the gynaecological cancers committee.
06. June
Gut microbiote and immunotherapy
Gustave Roussy teams (AMMICa, UMR1015 INSERM and Biostatistics/Epidemiology Unit) in collaboration with AP-HP and INRA teams show that the composition of the intestinal microbiota allows the identification of patients with a metastatic melanoma who will respond favorably to an iplimumab monoclonal antibody treatment.
Chaput N et al. Ann Oncol. (2017) Jun 1 ; 28(6) :1368-1379
How a cancerous cell migrates
The work conducted by Guillaume MONTAGNAC (ATIP/Avenir team in UMR1170 INSERM) reveals that clathrin-coated structures assemble on, wrap around and then pinch the collagen fibers in a 3D network. This novel mechanism provides multiple anchoring points allowing cell migration.
Elkhatib N et al. Science (2017), jun 16; 356(6343)
ASCO 2017
Fifty nine abstracts from Gustave Roussy oncologists were selected at the ASCO annual meeting: 10 for oral presentations, 8 for posters-discussions and 31 posters. In a plenary session, Pr Karim FIZAZI, head of the medical oncology department, presented the results from a phase III, double-blind, randomized trial yielding to a significantly improved benefit in newly diagnosed, high-risk, prostate cancer.
Charles Oberling Award
The Charles Oberling Award was won by Emma PAILLER (UMR981 INSERM) for the PhD thesis on the identification of biomarkers allowing to detect sensitivity or resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in circulating tumor cells (CTC) from patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.
07. July
Major breakthtrough in the treatment of prostate cancer
LATITUDE trial, a multinational, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial whose PI is Karim FAZAZI, shows that addition of abiraterone and prednisone to androgen-deprivation therapy significantly increased overall survival and radiographic progression-free survival in men with newly diagnosed, metastatic, castration-sensitive prostate cancer.
Fizazi K et al. N Engl J Med (2017); july 27:377:352-360
HEMO, a "stemness marker"
Thierry HEIDMANN team (UMR9196 CNRS) identified in the blood of pregnant women, a protein - dubbed HEMO - encoded by a full-length env gene from a retrovirus that infected our mammalian ancestors more than 100 millions years ago. High transcript levels were found in the placenta, stem cells from early embryos, iPSCs and several tumor tissues.
Heidmann O et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2017), aug 8; 114(32):E6642-6651.
Ancient Viruses Are Buried in Your DNA
New York Time, october 4, 2017
08. August
GReCO summer university
28th and 29th august : GReCO summer university (Gustave Roussy Research Center in Oncology). Presentation of scientific projects and teams composition.
Balthasar van der Pol Gold medal
The Balthasar van der Pol, Gold medal from URSI, was received by Lluis MIR (UMR8203 CNRS) for his leadership in pulsed electric fields with applications in Biology and Medicine: fundamentals of cell electroporation in vitro and in vivo, and development of anti-tumor electro-chemotherapy, from inception to clinical use.
09. September
National Research Agency (ANR) : 3th call for projects "Hospital/University research in health (RHU)" investment program.
The purpose is to support innovative projects in the field of health focusing on translational research and combining academic, hospital and corporate sectors. The MyProbe project coordinated by Fabrice ANDRE (UMR981 INSERM/Paris Sud) is selected and funded.
AMMICa platform
The genomic platform acquires a NovaSeq 6000 – Illumina allowing a broad range of applications (WGS, WES, total RNA-Seq).
Predictors of response to immune checkpoint blockade
In a retrospective study, Laurence ZITVOGEL team (INSERM U1015/Paris Sud University), the Biostatistics and Epidemiology department (Gustave Roussy) and several national and international collaborators identify potential prognostic/predictive biomarkers in circulating blood cells and in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes from patients with resected stage III melanoma.
Jacquelot N et al. Nat Commun (2017), sept 7; 8:592
Soeurs Lucie and Olga FRADISS
The 2017 Sœurs Lucie and Olga FRADISS in fundamental research in oncology, hosted by the Fondation de France, was attributed to Nadia ELKHATIB (postdoc in UMR 1170 INSERM) for her work deciphering a novel mechanism allowing cell migration and published in Science.
2th International Conference on Immunotherapy-Radiotherapy combinations
September 21-23, 2017, New York
With multiple partners including Weill Cornell Medical College, SIRIC-SOCRATE and Gustave Roussy, this meeting provides an overview of rapidly evolving topics such as modulating the tumor and host environment, immunological biomarkers for patient selection and innovative clinical trial designs.
September in gold
September in gold, month of mobilization against childhood and adolescent cancers. Despite advances in research and care, cancer remains the leading cause of death from illness in children over one year of age. Every year, 500 children and adolescents die from cancer in France and 6,000 in Europe. Gustave Roussy Foundation has launched a big campaign called "Cure the cancer of the child in the 21st century" to collect 10 million euros by 2020 for the benefit of pediatric oncology research. This campaign is chaired by Mr Frédéric Lemos.
10. October
october 25-27, 2017: Meeting with the Gustave Roussy Scientific Advisory Board
By giving advices on the proposals presented by PIs leading the 26 future teams, the SAB expertise will contribute in research directions, strategic guidance and organization of Gustave Roussy research center GReCO.
ESMO award in Immuno-Oncology
The first "ESMO award in Immuno-Oncology" goes to Laurence ZITVOGEL (UMR 1015 INSERM/Paris Sud) for her innovating and internationally recognized achievements in the field.
Galien MedStartup award
The Galien MedStartup award for the "Best collaboration for a breakthrough therapy or diagnosis" was attributed to IntegraGen for the ICE software (Interpretation of Clinical Exome). The ICE software is designed to facilitate the analysis of genomic data and the application of precision medicine approaches to the care of cancer patients.
ODYSSEA Paris 2017 : the biggest charity event against breast cancer
This event brought together 37,000 running and walking people on September 30 and October 1, 2017 at the Vincennes racecourse and raised 530,000 € to fund breast cancer research at Gustave Roussy.
11. November
Antibiotics and immunotherapy
Laurence ZITVOGEL team (UMR 1050 INSERM/Paris Sud), with Gustave Roussy, Inra and AP-HP collaborators, shows that taking antibiotics affect the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) treatment in patients with cancer. Metagenomics of patient stools reveals correlations between clinical responses to ICI and abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila. In a preclinical setting, supplementation with A. muciniphila restored the efficacy of PD-1 blockade by increasing the recruitment of lymphocytes into tumor beds.
Routy . et al. Science 2017, nov 2,pii: eaan3706. doi: 10.1126/science.aan3706. [Epub ahead of print]
Roy-Vaucouloux award
Caroline ROBERT, head of the Dermatology department, received the Roy-Vaucouloux award attributed by the French Academy of Sciences. This prize honors biologic researches on cancer and its treatment.
Nicola Werner research award 2017
The Nicola Werner research award 2017 from the European Academy of Tumor Immunology (EATI) was attributed to Meriem MESSAOUDENE (UMR 1015 INSERM/Paris Sud) for her post doctoral work on the immune surveillance of breast cancer.
Movember, an international mobilization against male cancers
Natixis, a major sponsor of the Gustave Roussy Foundation and official sponsor of Racing 92, has associated rugby players with its commitment to Movember and organized several actions in favor of men’s health.
Kerner award
The Kerner award attributed to a young scientist by the ARC foundation was won by Hadia MOINDJIE, postdoc in Clara Nahmias team (UMR981 INSERM/Paris Sud) for her ability to popularize science through her paper untitled "cellular trafficking: a black day for tumor cells".
A lizard with a placenta
Few years ago, Thierry HEIDMANN team (UMR9196 CNRS/Paris Sud) demonstrated that syncytins, crucial proteins for placenta formation, were encoded by the env gene of an ancient retrovirus buried in the human genome for millions years. The team has discovered a lizard, called Mabuya, that does not lay eggs like members of this species. Instead, Mabuya is viviparous with a sort of placenta generated by the expression of syncytins closely related to human proteins.
Cornelis G et al. PNAS 21 nov 2017, published online
L’étonnant placenta du lézard Mabuya
Le Monde, 26 novembre 2017
12. December
Anticancer agents and thrombocytopenia
The team conducted by Hana RASLOVA (UMR1170 INSERM/Paris Sud University) reveals the mechanisms by which anticancer agents targeting histone deacetylases (HDCA) induce profound thrombocytopenia. The data show that inhibition of HDAC6, a positive regulator of megakaryocyte terminal differentiation, induces a defect in the maturation of megakaryocyte and consequently of platelets generation.
Messaoudi K et al.Nature Comm., dec 27, DOI : 10.1038 / s41467-017-01-690-2 (published online)
French National Academy of Medecine Cancer award
The Cancer award was attributed by the French National Academy of Medecine to Sébastien Apcher (ATIP/Avenir leader) for his significant contributions in the field of anticancer vaccination with immunologic peptides.
A major help to cancer research
KLESIA Prévoyance and MAKAKOFF MEDERIC Prévoyance have generously pledged 4,5 million € over 3 years to give a major help to cancer research.
10 years of sponsoring researchers
Gustave Roussy celebrated, on December 16, 2017, the 10th anniversary of the "sponsoring researchers" program with the presence of nearly 150 sponsors. Teams shared their work and their results with the sponsors, a very appreciated way that materialized their support.
Rose Larmaca award
Caroline ROBERT, head of the Dermatology department, received the "Rose Larmaca award" from the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale for her important contributions to medical research.