Better prognostic determination of cT3 rectal cancer through measurement of distance to mesorectal fascia:A multicenter study

Objective:To forward the magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)based distance between the deepest tumor invasion and mesorectal fascia(DMRF),and to explore its prognosis differentiation value in cT3 stage rectal cancer with comparison of cT3 substage.Methods:This was a retrospective,multicenter cohort study including cT3 rectal cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery from January 2013 to September 2014.DMRF and cT3 substage were evaluated from baseline MRI.The cutoff of DMRF was determined by disease progression.Multivariate cox regression was used to test the prognostic values of baseline variables.Results:A total of 804 patients were included,of which 226(28.1%)developed progression.A DMRF cutoff of7 mm was chosen.DMRF category,the clock position of the deepest position of tumor invasion(CDTI)and extramural venous invasion(EMVI)were independent predictors for disease progression,and hazard ratios(HRs)were 0.26[95%confidence interval(95%CI),0.13-0.56],1.88(95%CI,1.33-2.65)and 1.57(95%CI,1.13-2.18),respectively.cT3 substage was not a predictor for disease progression.Conclusions:The measurement of DMRF value on baseline MRI can better distinguish cT3 rectal cancer prognosis rather than cT3 substage,and was recommended in clinical evaluation.

Discovery and chronological division of the Hipparion fauna in Laogaochuan Village, Fugu County, Shaanxi

Over two hundred species of the Hipparion fauna belonging to the Baode Stage havebeen found in more than a hundred localities in China. All of these fossils had beenthought to come from the same horizon by most scientists till the end of the 1950s.Since 1960, the Hipparion fauna has been discovered from different horizons and differentecologic groups, and extensive studies of taxonomy and evolution of some mammals