Assessment of the nesting population demography of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in La Roche Percée: first long-term monitoring in New Caledonia

1. Population monitoring is essential to assess, manage and protect threatened species. Although the South Pacific loggerhead turtle subpopulation is classified as critically endangered by the IUCN, monitoring data are scarce. 2. This study reports the results of the first long-term monitoring of the nesting population of loggerhead turtle held by Bwärä Tortues Marines on La Roche Percée beach, New Caledonia. 3. From 2006 to 2020, Capture Mark Recapture was used to identify nesting individuals. Time and nesting success were recorded on site. 4. A total of 452 different females were observed and tagged over 14 years. The number of different nesting individuals observed each year showed a significant increase along the timeframe of the study. A remigration interval of 3.34 years was observed and the overall nesting success was 59.02%. This study also reports the inter-nesting intervals, monthly and hourly variabilities in the visits at the nesting site. 5. The conservation actions led by Bwärä Tortues Marines seem to be correlated with a higher nesting success. This study provides encouraging results and highlight the need to pursue the monitoring and conservation actions implemented by Bwärä Tortues Marines. Further management recommendations are also provided

In Adults with Ph-Negative Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Age-Adapted Chemotherapy Intensity and MRD-Driven Transplant Indication Significantly Reduces Treatment-Related Mortality (TRM) and Improves Overall Survival - Results from the Graall-2014 Trial

International audienceBackground During the 2005-2014 period, the GRAALL conducted the GRAALL-2005 trial in patients (pts) with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative ALL aged 18-59y. In this trial, all pts received a pediatric-inspired chemotherapy, whatever their age. Post-hoc analysis revealed an unacceptable TRM in pts aged 45-59y (Huguet et al. J Clin Oncol 2018; 36:2514-23). Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was offered in first complete remission (CR) to most CR pts, defined at high-risk (HR) by at least one baseline clinical or biological HR factor (CNS involvement, complex karyotype [≥5 abns.], low hypodiploidy/near triploidy, poor early blast clearance, late CR, as well as WBC ≥ 30x109/L, lack of CD10 expression, KMT2A rearrangement or TCF3::PBX1 fusion for B-cell precursor [BCP] ALL). Minimal residual disease (MRD) response was not considered for HSCT indication at that time.In the next GRAALL-2014 trial conducted in a similar population, we introduced two major changes in the treatment strategy. First, chemotherapy intensity (steroids, anthracycline and L-asparaginase) was reduced in pts aged 45-59y to decrease excessive TRM. Secondly, the indication for HSCT was modified, relying on IG/TR MRD response only (post-induction MRD ≥10-3 and/or post-consolidation MRD ≥10-4) while not on any former baseline HR criterion. Here, we compare the outcomes of the two trials, focusing on the impact of these two major evolutions.Patients & Methods A total of 743 pts treated in the GRAALL-2014 trial between 2015 and 2020 were compared to the 787 pts from the historical GRAALL-2005 trial, in terms of CR and induction death rates, rate of HSCT in CR1, cumulative incidence of TRM (CITRM) and relapse (CIR), relapse-free (RFS) and overall (OS) survival. It should be noted that two nested Phase 2 trials were introduced by amendment during the GRAALL-2014 course (in 2017 and 2018, respectively), aiming to evaluate post-remission addition of nelarabine and blinatumomab in 87 T-ALL and 94 BCP-ALL selected pts, respectively.Results Main patient characteristics, including age, gender, BCP/T-ALL, WBC, and historical baseline HR features, did not significantly differ between the two trial cohorts, even if CNS disease at diagnosis was more frequent in the 2014 cohort (12 vs 7%, p= 0.001).Outcome comparisons are shown in Table 1. Overall, the induction death rate was significantly reduced in the GRAALL-2014 (3 vs 6%, p= 0.005). As expected, this was only observed in pts aged 44-59y (3 vs 11%, p= 0.001), in whom dose-intensity reduction also translated into a higher need for second induction course (9 vs 5%, p= 0.05) eventually resulting in a higher CR rate (92 vs 86%, p= 0.05). Due to the newly introduced MRD-based stratification, the rate of pts with HSCT indication was markedly reduced (30 vs 65%, p<0.001), especially in pts aged 18-44y (21 vs 40%, p<0001). Consequently, the rate of pts transplanted in CR1 dropped down from 38 to 23% (p<0.001).The GRAALL-2014 strategy also yielded a significant reduction in CITRM (5 vs 11% at 3 years; p<0.001; Figure 1B) after CR achievement. This reduction was more pronounced in pts aged 45-59y (7 vs 17%, p<0.001 compared to 4 vs 8%, p= 0.02 in 18-44y pts). This was associated with an increased CIR (35% vs 28% at 3 years; p= 0.01), with more late relapses as depicted in Figure 1A. Even if the resulting RFS was similar in both cohorts (59 vs 62% at 3 years; p= 0.77), OS was significantly longer in the GRAALL-2014 (71 vs 64%; p= 0.002) (Figure 1C) likely due to better post-relapse outcomes. When censoring those GRAALL-2014 pts who received nelarabine or blinatumomab in CR1, observations were basically unchanged, even if the difference in CIR was even more marked.Finally, using a 3-month RFS landmark in the 211 GRAALL-2014 pts eligible for HSCT in CR1 based on their poor early MRD response, HSCT significantly prolonged RFS (HR= 0.46 [95% CI, 0.27-0.78]; p= 0.004).Conclusions In adults with Ph-negative ALL enrolled in the GRAALL-2014, age-adapted chemotherapy intensity and MRD-driven indication for HSCT significantly reduced induction and post-remission TRM. This translated into a prolonged OS, indicating that this strategy was safe, despite a higher incidence of late relapses. Newly available salvage options along with HSCT in CR2 might also have played a role

Low incidence of SARS-CoV-2, risk factors of mortality and the course of illness in the French national cohort of dialysis patients

International audienceThe aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of COVID-19 disease in the French national population of dialysis patients, their course of illness and to identify the risk factors associated with mortality. Our study included all patients on dialysis recorded in the French REIN Registry in April 2020. Clinical characteristics at last follow-up and the evolution of COVID-19 illness severity over time were recorded for diagnosed cases (either suspicious clinical symptoms, characteristic signs on the chest scan or a positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) for SARS-CoV-2. A total of 1,621 infected patients were reported on the REIN registry from March 16th, 2020 to May 4th, 2020. Of these, 344 died. The prevalence of COVID-19 patients varied from less than 1% to 10% between regions. The probability of being a case was higher in males, patients with diabetes, those in need of assistance for transfer or treated at a self-care unit. Dialysis at home was associated with a lower probability of being infected as was being a smoker, a former smoker, having an active malignancy, or peripheral vascular disease. Mortality in diagnosed cases (21%) was associated with the same causes as in the general population. Higher age, hypoalbuminemia and the presence of an ischemic heart disease were statistically independently associated with a higher risk of death. Being treated at a selfcare unit was associated with a lower risk. Thus, our study showed a relatively low frequency of COVID-19 among dialysis patients contrary to what might have been assumed