Search

Background: The prognosis of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is optimistic with a 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rate of 70-85%. However, the major causes of mortality are chemotherapy toxicity, infection and relapse. The Guangdong (GD)-2008-ALL collaborative protocol was carried out to study the effect of reduced intensity on treatment related mortality (TRM) based on Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) 2002 backbone treatment. The study was designed to elucidate whether the reduced intensity is effective and safe for children with ALL.Methods: The clinical data were obtained from February 28, 2008 to June 30, 2016. A total of 1765 childhood ALL cases from 9 medical centers were collected and data were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were stratified into 3 groups according to bone marrow morphology, prednisone response, age, genotype, and karyotype information: standard risk (SR), intermediate risk (IR) and high risk (HR). For SR group, daunorubicin was decreased in induction IA while duration was reduced in Induction Ib (2 weeks in place of 4 weeks). Doses for CAM were same in all risk groups - SR patients received one CAM, others got two CAMs.Results: The 5-year and 8-year overall survival (OS), event-free survival (EFS) and cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) were 83.5±0.9% and 83.1±1.0%, 71.9±1.1% and 70.9±1.2%, and 19.5±1.0% and 20.5±1.1%, respectively. The 2-year treatment-related mortality (TRM) was 5.2±0.5%. The 5-year and 8-year OS were 90.7±1.4% and 89.6±1.6% in the SR group, while the 5-year and 8-year EFS were 81.5±1.8% and 80.0±2.0%. In the SR group, 74 (15.2%) patients measured minimal residual disease (MRD) on Day 15 and Day 33 of induction therapy. Among them, 7 patients (9.46%) were MRD positive (≥ 0.01%) on Day 33. The incidence of relapse in the MRD Day 33 positive group (n=7) was 28.6%, while in the MRD Day 33 negative group (n=67) was 7.5% (p=0.129).Conclusions: The results of GD-2008-ALL protocol are outstanding for reducing TRM in childhood ALL in China with excellent long term EFS. This protocol provided the evidence for further reducing intensity of induction therapy in the SR group according to the risk stratification. MRD levels on Day 15 and Day 33 are appropriate indexes for stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new species of the genus Dryopomorphus Hinton, 1936 are described from China: Dryopomorphus heineri sp. n. and D. ruiliensis sp. n. Habitus photographs and detailed line drawings of the male genitalia are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report the first complete genome sequence of a dengue virus serotype 4 genotype II strain, GZ30, isolated in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, in 2010. The sequence information provided herein will help us to understand the molecular epidemiology of dengue virus and predict the risk of severe diseases in mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report the complete genome sequence of a dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2) strain, GZ40, isolated in Guangdong, China, in 2010. A phylogenetic analysis classified GZ40 into the Cosmopolitan genotype, while previous Chinese DENV-2 isolates belong to the Asian I genotype. The reemergence of the Cosmopolitan genotype of DENV-2 in China deserves further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chikungunya virus belongs to the genus Alphavirus in the family Togaviridae. Here we report the complete genome sequence of a chikungunya virus strain, GD05/2010, isolated in 2010 from a patient with chikungunya fever in Guangdong, China. The sequence information is important for surveillance of this emerging arboviral infection in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]