SUMMARY1. The volume of the udder and the composition of the secretion have been followed in five goats through pregnancy to the onset of lactation.2. During the middle of pregnancy udder volume was minimal and there was little or no fluid in the teats.3. Two stages of commencing secretary activity (lactogenesis) were defined. In the first, starting up to ten weeks pre-partum, udder volume increased and the fluid in the teats changed from an extracellular-fluid-like to a milk-like composition and acquired a high concentration of immunoglobulins. Four goats accumulated several litres of a pre-colostral fluid with a high [lactose] 6-7 weeks pre-partum.4. Comparison of the rate of increase in udder volume with previous data for the rate of increase in empty udder volume in pregnant goats showed that the rate of secretion, even in the last few days of pregnancy, was only a few per cent of the rate immediately after parturition.5. In the last 2-3 days of pregnancy there was a three to elevenfold increase in [citrate] in the secretion; this heralded the onset of copious secretion at about the time of parturition.6. The changes in mammary gland activities are discussed in relation to changes in plasma hormone concentrations during pregnancy.

In 12 anaesthetized boars the concentrations of oestrone sulphate and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHAS) were 15- to 35-fold higher in lymph collected from a vessel in the spermatic cord than in testicular venous blood plasma from a vein in the spermatic cord. The concentrations of testosterone, total unconjugated oestrogens and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA) were about twofold higher in lymph. The concentrations of all steroids studied were higher in testicular venous blood plasma than in arterial blood plasma (testosterone about sixfold; total unconjugated oestrogens about fourfold; oestrone sulphate about threefold; DHA and DHAS about twofold), but the concentrations of testosterone, total unconjugated oestrogens and oestrone sulphate in rete testis fluid were comparable to those in arterial blood plasma. Lymph flow from the pig testis was about 7% of plasma flow so that about 80% of the oestrone sulphate and DHAS produced by the testis leaves the organ in the lymph; the comparable values for testosterone, total unconjugated oestrogen and DHA were about 20%. In the 90-min period following an injection of human chorionic gonadotrophin there were substantial increases in the concentration of testosterone and smaller increases in the other steroids in arterial and spermatic venous blood plasma and in testicular lymph, but not in rete testis fluid; there were also small increases in lymph flow, but no change in blood flow.

587 Background: Patient survival is impacted by several factors, one of which is stage at diagnosis. From 1976 to 2014, CRC death rate in the United States (US) declined by 51%. This retrospective study was conducted using US Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data to evaluate 1- and 5-year relative survival for patients with CRC by American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, age and sex at diagnosis. Methods: The study included adults (age ≥20 years) in the SEER-18 registry diagnosed with CRC in 2004-2014. One- and 5-year relative survival rates were stratified by AJCC stage, age group (20-64 vs. ≥65 years) and sex. Results: One- and 5-year survival was calculated by age and stage at diagnosis (Table), and by sex (data not shown). Overall, 5-year survival rates declined compared to 1-year rates, with the biggest decline observed in stage IV patients. Survival was higher in the younger cohort than in patients ≥65 years of age regardless of stage. Both men and women diagnosed with stage IIB CRC had lower 1- and 5-year survival compared to stage IIIA and IIIB groups, consistent with previous findings. Patients with stage IV had the lowest survival irrespective of age or sex. Conclusions: Overall trends in 1- and 5-year relative survival for CRC varied by AJCC stage, age and sex. Since survival is lowest among CRC patients diagnosed at stage IV, particularly in elderly patients, it reinforces the need for early diagnosis and availability of innovative late stage therapies in this population. [Table: see text]

Normal female rats were mated to control males or males which were subjected to unilateral testicular heating (43 degrees C for 30 min), irradiation (500 R), efferent duct ligation, arterial ligation or castration; in all males, the contralateral ductus deferens was ligated. All treatments caused reduced fertility and eventually infertility, as judged by the percentage of females becoming pregnant; the infertility was temporary after heating and irradiation. During the periods of reduced fertility, the numbers of fetuses per pregnant female and the fetus/corpus luteum ratios were reduced. In subsequent experiments, after heating of the testis, there was not only failure of fertilization despite the presence of normal numbers of spermatozoa in the uterus, but also an increased rate of embryonic degeneration in normal females. These results provide evidence that the male, while still fertile, can affect the fecundity of the female and the rate of embryo mortality.

Background There are few third-line or later (3L+) treatment options for advanced/metastatic (adv/met) gastric cancer/gastroesophageal junction cancers (GC/GEJC). 3L+ Nivolumab demonstrated encouraging results in Asian patients in the ATTRACTION-2 study compared with placebo (12-month survival, 26% vs 11%), and in Western patients in the single-arm CheckMate 032 study (12-month survival, 44%). This analysis aimed to establish comparator cohorts of US patients receiving routine care in real-world (RW) clinical practice. Methods A 2-step matching process generated RW cohorts from Flatiron Health’s oncology database (January 1, 2011–April 30, 2017), for comparison with each trial: (1) clinical trial eligibility criteria were applied; (2) patients were frequency-matched with trial arms for baseline variables significantly associated with survival. Median overall survival (OS) was calculated by Kaplan–Meier analysis from last treatment until death. Results Of 742 adv/met GC/GEJC patients with at least 2 prior lines of therapy, matching generated 90 US RW ATTRACTION-2-matched patients (median OS: 3.5 months) versus 163 ATTRACTION-2 placebo patients (median OS: 4.1 months), and 100 US RW CheckMate 032-matched patients (median OS: 2.9 months) versus 42 CheckMate 032 nivolumab-treated patients (median OS: 8.5 months). Baseline characteristics were generally similar between clinical trial arms and RW-matched cohorts. Conclusions We successfully developed RW cohorts for comparison with data from clinical trials, with comparable baseline characteristics. Survival in US patients receiving RW care was similar to that seen in Asian patients receiving placebo in ATTRACTION-2; survival with nivolumab in CheckMate 032 appeared favorable compared with US RW clinical practice.