San Diego Proton therapy center owner bankrupt

Scripps Proton Therapy Center - San Diego

Proton Therapy for Cancer Treatment - Scripps Health

Proton therapy center files for bankruptcy - The San Diego Union-Tribune
Just three years after opening its doors, San Diego’s only proton therapy center [operated under lease by Scripps Healthcare] is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. [Case 17-10477-LSS Doc 1 Filed 03/01/17 California Proton Treatment Center, LLCpetition.pdf] At a hearing in Delaware bankruptcy court scheduled for Friday, owner California Proton Treatment Center will ask a judge to approve a $16 million short-term loan to pay for continued operations while a restructuring effort proceeds. The investment group that owns the $220 million state-of-the-art facility on Summers Ridge Road filed Wednesday under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, stating in court papers that the center “has not operated on a profitable or even a break-even basis.”

“Unfortunately (California Proton Treatment Center’s) projections, which they used to build and finance the center, never lived up to their expectations,” [Scripps CEO] Van Gorder said, adding that the number of prostate cases referred were far fewer than seemed reasonable during planning and construction.

“It has been able to cover it’s operating expenses. What it has not been able to pay back is the debt,” Van Gorder said.

There are some big bills to pay. Court filings indicate that proton therapy is a power-hungry enterprise with a $123,000 average monthly utility bill. As part of its bankruptcy filing the center is asking a judge to prevent San Diego Gas and Electric from shutting off the power while restructuring is under way.

Dream of a new weapon in Cancer Battle

Shannon litz/Nevada Appeal Jeff Bordok talks about
Advanced Particle Therapy
at The Record-Courier

A small Minden company, Advanced Particle Therapy APT, has found its niche in the ever-advancing battle against cancer, and for the company’s president, Jeff Bordok, the battle is personal.

“I lost my father to cancer. My wife lost her father to cancer. It touches everyone, and to be able to provide a better treatment alternative is very rewarding,” he said. “When I get around doctors, patients and survivors, I see how important it is to make this happen.”

The 63-year-old Gardnerville resident, president and CEO of Advanced Particle Therapy, just returned from San Diego where his company is breaking ground on the 102,000-square-foot, $185 million Scripps Proton Therapy Center,

DOTmed.com - Q&A with Jeff Bordok, CEO of Advanced Particle Therapy 
Advanced Particle Therapy has been involved with the development and ownership of proton treatment centers for the past eight years. APT provides a fully integrated solution for proton therapy with operations by our clinical partners. Our clinical partners are major health care systems and medical academic institutions. Currently the institutions include Scripps Health and Scripps Clinic Medical Group, the University of Maryland, Emory Healthcare/ Emory University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

The Scripps Proton Therapy Center is a freestanding center owned and developed by California Proton Treatment Center, LLC a special purpose entity formed for the project by Advanced Particle Therapy. The 100,000 sq. foot center has five treatment rooms (three rotational gantries and two fixed beam rooms). The Center features state-of-the-art technology including the Varian ProBeam proton therapy system [ProBeam Proton Therapy System | Varian Medical Systems] and diagnostic equipment including PET-CT, CT and MRI.

Another Domino Falls?

Kelcy Warren's Investment, California Cancer Treatment Center, Files for Chapter 11
California Proton Treatment Center LLC, the developer of the Scripps Proton Therapy Center in San Diego, filed for Chapter 11 on Wednesday, March 1, and intends to sell the cancer treatment facility.

The Scripps facility is the third of its kind to enter Chapter 11 since 2015; all of them have received backing from Advanced Particle Therapy LLC (APT). The debtor is due in court before Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington on Friday on its request to access a $32 million debtor-in-possession loan.

Kelcy Warren - Wikipedia

Texas billionaire Kelcy Warren and a limited partnership affiliated with Dallas financial services firm Williams Financial Group combined to invest $18.8 million in the California project. Warren, the CEO of natural gas company Energy Transfer Partners, also invested $20 million into an unfinished APT proton treatment facility in Dallas that was going to be affiliated with the University of Texas. As the project died and Dallas Proton Treatment Center LLC liquidated in Chapter 11, Warren sued APT in Texas state court in September.
- - -
JPMorgan, ORIX and Varian are owed a combined $180.74 million on three classes of notes. The DIP rolls up $16 million of that prepetition indebtedness and also offers $16 million in new money. It carries a $560,000 upfront fee and an interest rate of LIBOR plus 9% and will mature upon consummation of a sale.

The California Proton Treatment Center's largest unsecured creditors include MMBC Proton Inc. ($275,000), San Diego Gas & Electric ($194,600), SCG Capital Corp. ($95,000), GE Healthcare ($48,125) and Varian ($33,153). It listed assets and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million in its petition.

Proton High Costs versus Unsold Benefits

In proton therapy, a beam that contains the positively charged particle is fired at cancerous tissue. Studies on the effectiveness of proton therapy relative to other forms of radiation treatment have been inconclusive.

Proton therapy: Less invasive, less available? | NJ.com

Delivering the benefit -- less entrance dose than radiation and no exit dose -- however, is also the inherent difficulty associated with proton therapy.

"Because protons are heavier, the process needed to accelerate them to 70 percent of the speed of light is a true physics and engineering challenge," said Khan.

At centers like ProCure, where a massive cyclotron machine accelerates protons to the speed required for their use and delivers them through a beam transport system to each of a handful of patient rooms, Khan said that traditional proton therapy machines can cost $150-250 million. The cost has limited their presence to fewer than two dozen sites nationwide, of which just two -- ProCure and the Laurie Proton Therapy Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital -- reside in New Jersey.

"Until 2006, there were only two proton therapy centers in the U.S. (at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California and at Massachusetts General Hospital); 16-20 more have been built in the last decade for a total of 22-23 proton therapy operating centers in the U.S. today," said Dr. Sameer Keole, proton beam therapy medical director at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"It's prohibitively expensive for the vast majority of medical centers," noted Keole, who added that as a result, proton therapy currently accounts for less than 1 percent of all of the radiation given in the U.S., a number that's expected to double to just 2 percent by 2023.

"It's been particularly effective in treating prostate cancer and could truly make a difference in cases where radiation and chemotherapy are combined because that can be a toxic treatment, but we have a long way to go before we have enough proton supply to treat all of the eligible patients," said Keole, who is also vice chair of the Government Relations Council for the American Society for Radiation Oncology in Arlington, Va.

Alongside investor-financed centers like ProCure, RWJ is hoping to change that dynamic by offering its own state-of-the-art approach to proton therapy in the form of a more compact cyclotron dramatically reduced footprint -- not to mention a dramatically reduced price tag of just $20 million per machine.

Insurance Hurdles for patients

A big impediment for patients, so far, is that not all insurance companies cover proton therapy; some insurance carriers cover proton therapy for approved applications and grant case-by-case approvals based on medical necessity, Robert Wood Johnson's Khan said. He also said he expects to see less-expensive machines like RWJ's proliferate nationwide along with more sustained efforts to study proton therapy versus conventional radiation in clinical trials.

Dr. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, said currently coverage for proton therapy varies among insurance carriers. He said coverage decisions are made on a case-by-case basis as medical need justifies it, citing an example of a patient who with prostate cancer who also suffers from Crohn's disease, a condition which might be exacerbated by conventional X-ray radiation.

Owners of Scripps Proton Therapy Center File for Bankruptcy | San Diego Business Journal

Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder said he did not know about plans for the bankruptcy filing until after it happened, but that the health care system had been anticipating such a move for months because of CPTC’s “enormous amount of debt.”

“Scripps knew that this was a high-risk venture from the very beginning,” he said.

Van Gorder added that shortly before the center’s opening in 2014, commercial insurers shifted away from proton therapy toward a form of conventional treatment [IMRT] that uses a narrow beam of radiation. He said Scripps continues to believe proton therapy is the more effective therapy, largely because protons stop at the target site rather than continuing through a patient’s body.

He said Scripps has no financial exposure to CPTC’s bankruptcy, and that the health system only leases and operates it.

Lately, patient volume at the center has averaged 70 at any given time, even as more than 200 calls per month come in from people interested in receiving treatment there, Van Gorder said, adding that the facility needs a steady flow of 130 to 140 patients to thrive.

References:

• Advanced Particle Therapy, LLC - List of CEOs, founders and company directors
• Loan and Security Agreement 
•  Is this the first Domino to Fall? | Student Doctor Network
•  Case 17-10477-LSS Doc 1 Filed 03/01/17 California Proton Treatment Center, LLCpetition.pdf
• Kelcy Warren's Investment, California Cancer Treatment Center, Files for Chapter 11
• DOTmed.com - Q&A with Jeff Bordok, CEO of Advanced Particle Therapy  
• Haskell Selected to Complete Design/Build for Scripps Proton Therapy Center in San Diego 
•  Minden company spearheads proton therapy center | NevadaAppeal.com
• Advanced Particle Therapy LLC | Business Litigation & Securities Arbitration Lawyers 
•  $200M Atlanta Cancer Center Creditors Try To Force Ch. 11 - Law360
•  Owners of Scripps Proton Therapy Center File for Bankruptcy | San Diego Business Journal
• New Delaware Chapter 11 Filing - California Proton Treatment Center, LLC (Case No. 17-10477 (LSS)) | Bankruptcy & Restructuring Law 
•  Owner of Scripps Proton Therapy Center files for bankruptcy
• Mevion S250 Superconducting Synchrocyclotron Delivered to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital | Imaging Technology News
• Proton Therapy Centers Location Map and Listings 

ESA’s Swarm Satellites show Earth Magnetic Field details

Magnetic anomaly in Bangui. Red indicates areas where the lithospheric magnetic field is positive, while blues show areas where it is negative. Source: ESA/DTU Space/DLR

ESA’s Swarm Satellites Reveal Detailed Variations in the Earth's Magnetic Field ~ GIS Lounge
Three years of data collection the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Swarm satellites has resulted in the highest resolution map of Earth’s lithospheric magnetic field.  The lithosphere is the rigid outer part of Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.  According to the ESA, he majority of the Earth’s magnetic field is generated deep within the planet due to movements by the molten iron in the outer core.  About 6% is from electric currents in the space surrounding the planet and from magnetised rocks in the upper lithosphere.  The agency was able to map this magnetic field by using data pulled from the trio of Swarm satellites and modeling it historical data from the German CHAMP satellite. The ESA Swarm mission, launched on November 22, 2013, 1:02pm (CET), consists of a constellation of three CHAMP-like satellites in three different polar orbits between 400 and 550km altitude.

 Nils Olsen from the Technical University of Denmark who worked on developing the map explains, “By combining Swarm measurements with historical data from the German CHAMP satellite, and using a new modelling technique, it was possible to extract the tiny magnetic signals of crustal magnetization.”
The new higher resolution map of the Earth’s magnetic field has revealed anomalies in its surface.  For example, the magnetic field is stronger and sharper around the city of Bangui located in Central Africa.  Researchers theorize this may be due to a meteorite hitting the area more than 540 million years ago.

The new map shown in condensed animation above was unveiled at the 2017 Swarm Science Meeting in Canada. Most of the field is generated at depths greater than 3000 km by the movement of molten iron in the outer core. The remaining 6% is partly due to electrical currents in space surrounding Earth, and partly due to magnetised rocks in the upper lithosphere – the rigid outer part of Earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.

Although this ‘lithospheric magnetic field’ is very weak and therefore difficult to detect from space, the Swarm trio is able to map its magnetic signals. After three years of collecting data, the highest resolution map of this field from space to date has been released.

The magnetic field is in a permanent state of flux. Magnetic north wanders, and every few hundred thousand years the polarity flips so that a compass would point south instead of north.
When new crust is generated through volcanic activity, mainly along the ocean floor, iron-rich minerals in the solidifying magma are oriented towards magnetic north, thus capturing a ‘snapshot’ of the magnetic field in the state it was in when the rocks cooled.
Since magnetic poles flip back and forth over time, the solidified minerals form ‘stripes’ on the seafloor and provide a record of Earth’s magnetic history.

Swarm

The latest map from Swarm gives us an unprecedented global view of the magnetic stripes associated with plate tectonics reflected in the mid-oceanic ridges in the oceans.
“These magnetic stripes are evidence of pole reversals and analysing the magnetic imprints of the ocean floor allows the reconstruction of past core field changes. They also help to investigate tectonic plate motions,” said Dhananjay Ravat from the University of Kentucky in the USA.
“The new map defines magnetic field features down to about 250 km and will help investigate geology and temperatures in Earth’s lithosphere.” 

Related/Background:

• spendergast: Mysteries of Earth's magnetism to be mapped
• Unravelling Earth’s magnetic field / Swarm / Observing the Earth / Our Activities / ESA
• Special issue “Swarm science results after 2 years in space”, Earth Planets Space, 68, 172, doi:10.1186/s40623-016-0546-6, 2016 

Grey Eagle UAV Deployment

U.S. deploys attack drones to South Korea amid tension with North

By James Pearson

SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States has started to deploy attack drones to South Korea, a U.S. military spokesman said on Monday, days after it began to deploy an advanced anti-missile system to help counter the ballistic missile capabilities and "continued provocative actions" by isolated North Korea.

Ballistic Missiles and NBC Weapon Programme of North Korea »
Indian Defence Review

The drones, Gray Eagle UAS Unmanned Aerial Systems coming to South Korea are part of a broader plan to deploy a company of the attack drones with every division in the U.S. Army, the spokesman said. The Gray Eagle is a remotely controlled attack drone made by U.S.-based General Atomics.

Installation Overview --Kunsan Air Base, South Korea

"The UAS equipped with the Lynx SAR/GMTI radar and MTS EO/IR ball adds significant all weather intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability to U.S. Forces Korea and our ROK partners," United States Forces Korea spokesman Christopher Bush said in a statement. They will be stationed at Kunsan Air Base, 180 km (112 miles) south of Seoul, Bush said, and would be permanently based in South Korea. The MQ-1C is also capable of ground strike with hellfire missiles against fixed and moving targets.

RPV Missile Defense Capabilities

Gray Eagle MQ1C is a variant with a different engine and lower 29,000 ft combat ceiling of the GA-ASI Predator B which has demonstrated BMD Detection and Tracking using a pair of UAV with enhanced MTS ball sensors .

Sensor Enables Reaper Drones to Track Ballistic Missiles

Pair of GA-ASI Predator B Detects and Tracks Ballistic Missile in Pacific Dragon Exercise - UASweekly.com

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA ASI), a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, electro-optic and related mission systems solutions, today announced that through a contract with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), it executed a missile tracking test as part of the Pacific Dragon (PD) exercise held June 26-28 off the coast of the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Kauai, Hawaii.

Pacific Dragon is a trilateral Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) tracking event between the U.S. Navy, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force, and Republic of Korea Navy. The biennial exercise focuses on improving tactical and technical coordination among its participants, including the detection, tracking and reporting of ballistic targets.

Two Predator® B RPA equipped with Raytheon Multi-spectral Targeting Systems-B (MTS-B) Electro-optical Infrared (EO/IR) turrets were used to detect and track a Ballistic Missile (BM) target as part of an ongoing program with MDA. The Predator B aircraft also participated in exercises with U.S. Navy vessels.

“The test provided valuable data in our ongoing effort to develop an effective airborne missile defense capability,” said Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI.

A technologically advanced derivative of the combat-proven Predator, the multi-mission Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper® is a long-endurance, medium- to high-altitude RPA that can be used for surveillance, military reconnaissance, and targeting missions. The current aircraft configuration features an extensive payload capacity and is powered by a Honeywell turboprop engine with an altitude of over 45,000 feet. It is currently operational with the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NASA, and a number of NATO countries.

Related/Background:

• Improved Gray Eagle® (IGE) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) - Army Technology
•  Predator Bs Tested for Ballistic Missile Defense | Defense News: Aviation International News
• GA-ASI Completes Latest Airborne Missile Defense Test 
•  US to deploy new Gray Eagle attack drone system in South Korea - News - Stripes
•  spendergast: GA-ASI $95M Contracts for new Gray Eagle Ground Control Stations

Goldstone and Green Bank DSS find lost NASA and ISRO lunar orbiters with bistatic radar

Range-Doppler Plot of Chandrayaan-1 Radar Return

Goldstone Ground Based Radar Antenna

Monostatic and bistatic configurations for radar observations of Venus and near-Earth asteroids.
SOURCE: Lower left: Courtesy of Donald B. Campbell, Cornell University;
lower right: National Radio Astronomy Observatory;
image of Venus: Courtesy of NASA/JPL/USGS (PIA00157: Hemispheric
View of Venus Centered at 0 Degrees East Longitude).

NASA finds missing LRO, Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiters



NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said it has located its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft after disappearing for years.


"Hunting down LRO and rediscovering Chandrayaan-1 have provided the start for a unique new capability. Working together, the large radar antennas at Goldstone, Arecibo and Green Bank demonstrated that they can detect and track even small spacecraft in lunar orbit," JPL said in a statement. "Ground-based radars could possibly play a part in future robotic and human missions to the moon, both for a collisional hazard assessment tool and as a safety mechanism for spacecraft that encounter navigation or communication issues."


JPL said scientists found the spacecrafts orbiting the moon by using a new technological application [News | New NASA Radar Technique Finds Lost Lunar Spacecraft] found on ground-based interplanetary radar using signal configurations shown in the table below, previously used for exploration of Venus and near earth asteroid tracking. To find a spacecraft 237,000 miles (380,000 kilometers) away, JPL's team used NASA's 70-meter (230-foot) antenna at NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California to send out a powerful beam of microwaves directed toward the moon. Then the radar echoes bounced back from lunar orbit were received by the 100-meter (330-foot) Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia.

Finding a derelict spacecraft at lunar distance that has not been tracked for years is tricky because the moon is riddled with mascons (regions with higher-than-average gravitational pull) that can dramatically affect a spacecraft's orbit over time, and even cause it to have crashed into the moon. JPL's orbital calculations indicated that Chandrayaan-1 is still circling some 124 miles (200 kilometers) above the lunar surface, but it was generally considered "lost."

However, with Chandrayaan-1, the radar team utilized the fact that this spacecraft is in polar orbit around the moon, so it would always cross above the lunar poles on each orbit. So, on July 2, 2016, the team pointed Goldstone and Green Bank at a location about 100 miles (160 kilometers) above the moon's north pole and waited to see if the lost spacecraft crossed the radar beam. Chandrayaan-1 was predicted to complete one orbit around the moon every two hours and 8 minutes. Something that had a radar signature of a small spacecraft did cross the beam twice during four hours of observations, and the timings between detections matched the time it would take Chandrayaan-1 to complete one orbit and return to the same position above the moon's pole.

The team used data from the return signal to estimate its velocity and the distance to the target. This information was then used to update the orbital predictions for Chandrayaan-1.

"It turns out that we needed to shift the location of Chandrayaan-1 by about 180 degrees, or half a cycle from the old orbital estimates from 2009," said Ryan Park, the manager of JPL's Solar System Dynamics group, who delivered the new orbit back to the radar team. "But otherwise, Chandrayaan-1's orbit still had the shape and alignment that we expected." Radar echoes from the spacecraft were obtained seven more times over three months and are in perfect agreement with the new orbital predictions. Some of the follow-up observations were done with the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which has the most powerful astronomical radar system on Earth.

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which is operated by the National Science Foundation with NASA funding, and has the most powerful astronomical radar system on Earth, conducted follow-up observations.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Spacecraft

LRO is a robotic mission that set out to map the moon's surface. LRO and the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) were launched on an Atlas V rocket on June 18, 2009. LRO spent its first three years in a low polar orbit collecting detailed information about the moon and its environment. After this initial orbit, LRO transitioned to a stable elliptical orbit, passing low over the lunar south pole. With a suite of seven powerful instruments.

 "Finding LRO was relatively easy, as we were working with the mission's navigators and had precise orbit data where it was located," Marina Brozovic, a radar scientist at JPL, said in a statement. "Finding India's Chandrayaan-1 required a bit more detective work because the last contact with the spacecraft was in August of 2009."

Chandrayaan spacecraft a cube of side 1.5 m based on the I-1-K bus
used in the IRS series of satellites. It also carried the Moon
Impact Probe which landed on the moon on November 14, 2009.

Chandrayaan-1, a five-foot cube, was India's first mission to the Moon, launched on October 22, 2008 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota. The spacecraft was orbiting around the Moon at a height of 100 km from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the Moon. The spacecraft carried 11 scientific instruments built in India, USA, UK, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria.

After the successful completion of all the major mission objectives, the orbit has been raised to 200 km during May 2009. The satellite made more than 3400 orbits around the moon and the mission was concluded when the communication with the spacecraft was lost on August 29, 2009.

JPL, which is located in the California Institute of Technology, said scientists found Chandrayaan-1 about 124 miles above the moon's surface, but the spacecraft is considered lost. The spacecraft is more than 230,000 miles away.

TABLE Current U.S. Planetary Radar Systems

Transmitting Location	Frequency (GHz)	Bandwidth (MHz)	Power (MW)	Receive Location
Arecibo, Puerto Rico	2.380	20	1.0 (CW)	Arecibo, Puerto Rico GBT, Green Bank, West Virginia VLA, Socorro, New Mexico LRO, Lunar orbit
	0.430	0.6	2.5 (pulsed)	Arecibo, Puerto Rico GBT, Green Bank, West Virginia
Goldstone, California DSS-14	8.560	50	0.5 (CW)	Goldstone, California GBT, Green Bank, West Virginia Arecibo, Puerto Rico VLA, Socorro, New Mexico 10 VLBA sites
Goldstone, California DSS-13	7.190	80	0.08 (CW)	Goldstone, California GBT, Green Bank, West Virginia Arecibo, Puerto Rico

NOTE: Close asteroid observations require bistatic operation. Goldstone DSS-14 has NTIA assignment of 8.50 to 8.70 GHz. Goldstone DSS-13 has NTIA assignment of 7.150 to 7.230 GHz.

Related/Background:

• Lunar Orbital Data Explorer - Home Page
• News | New NASA Radar Technique Finds Lost Lunar Spacecraft
• 6 Planetary Radar Astronomy | A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum | The National Academies Press  
• Long Lost Indian Moon Probe Found by Earth-Based NASA Radar 
•  How NASA found India's long-missing moon probe
•  NASA Radar Finds India's Lost Chandrayaan-1 Lunar Spacecraft - SpaceRef
• NASA’s interplanetary radar spots tiny derelict satellite in forgotten lunar orbit | TechCrunch 
•  

Prostate Cancer News - 2017-03

Prostate Cancer News - 2017-03

General News

About prostate cancer research, cases and public awareness:

• Genitourinary Cancers Symposium: abstracts: Site | Meeting Library
• What Tom Price doesn't know about prostate cancer screening
• Michigan Medicine opens first prostate cancer risk clinic in the nation — BioPortfolio.com  
• Another systemic failure of care and about whether anyone cared at all | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK
• British Science Week: 10 of the biggest changes in cancer research over the last 20 years - Cancer Research UK - Science blog 
• Drug development in prostate cancer: time to embrace RECIST? - The Lancet Oncology
• Please include more patients at our medical meetings 

Case Management

Planning a campaign against prostate cancer:

• Comparison of Patient Report and Medical Records of Comorbidities | Oncology | JAMA Oncology | The JAMA Network
• Second opinions from urologists for prostate cancer: Who gets them, why, and their link to treatment.
• [Clinical and pathological characteristics of prostate cancer patients younger than 55 years old]. - PubMed - NCBI 
• spendergast: California Hospitals and Health Systems With Great Oncology Programs
• The ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium: a brief report | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK  
• What’s good for the patient is not always what they want | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK

Life Choices

can influence the odds in your favor:

• Vasectomies May Not Pose a Risk of Prostate Cancer — BioPortfolio.com

Diet

can starve the cancer

• What Should I Eat To Prevent Prostate Cancer?
• Access : Celastrol, an active constituent of the TCM plant Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.f., inhibits prostate cancer bone metastasis : Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases  
• Regular Aspirin Use and the Risk of Lethal Prostate Cancer in the Physicians' Health Study. - PubMed - NCBI
• Aspirin use and risk for lethal prostate cancer | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK 
• Selective anti-proliferative activities of Carica papaya leaf juice extracts against prostate cancer. - PubMed - NCBI

Exercise

can give you strength to fight the cancer and treatment side effects

• Yes guys … exercise is good for men on ADT! | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK
• Exercise Intervention Among Men With Prostate Cancer Initiating Androgen Deprivation Therapy: A Pilot Study

Screening and Diagnosis

early detection is important because symptoms appear too late for treatment:

• Calculating Life Expectancy to Inform Prostate Cancer Screening and Treatment Decisions - Hawken - 2017 - BJU International - Wiley Online Library   
• MDxHealth Inc Release SelectMDx Chosen By Michigan Medicine As Pre biopsy Diagnostic Tool In Groundbreaking U S Prostate Cancer Risk Clinic
• SelectMDx Chosen by Michigan Medicine as Pre-biopsy Diagnostic Tool in Groundbreaking US Prostate Cancer Risk Clinic — BioPortfolio.com 
• Changes to the standards for staging of prostate cancer | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK
• Surviving Prostate Cancer through Advanced Diagnostics and Robot-Assisted Technology 
• Of tigers and pussycats and the ability to discriminate between them | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK
• Mathematical Analysis Reveals Prognostic Signature for Prostate Cancer | Cancer Network  
• ‘Google Earth’ for tumours could change cancer diagnostics and drug testing forever - Cancer Research UK - Science blog

Biopsies and Pathology

• A Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Based Risk Model to Determine the Risk of Significant Prostate Cancer prior to biopsy - van Leeuwen - 2017 - BJU International - Wiley Online Library
• Liquid Biopsy Shows Promise in Advanced Prostate Cancer | Cancer Network
• Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System, Version 2, Assessment Categories and Pathologic Outcomes in Patients With Gleason Score 3 + 4 = 7 Prostate Cancer Diagnosed at Biopsy : American Journal of Roentgenology: Vol. 0, No. 0 (AJR) 
• A pathological “take” on the potential role of focal therapy | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK

Genomics

• Genomic Decipher Score Predicts Prostate Cancer Metastasis, Mortality | Cancer Network 
• A potential panel of four-long noncoding RNA signature in prostate cancer predicts biochemical recurrence-free survival and disease-free survival. - PubMed - NCBI    
• Revisiting the role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in prostate cancer
• Genomic tests to guide prostate cancer management following diagnosis.  
• Why do shorter men go bald more often? - Medical News Today

Tests

• Myriad Genetics Prolaris Test Significantly Improves The Risk Classification For One Third Of Men Diagnosed With Localized Prostate Cancer  

Imaging

• A Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Based Risk Model to Determine the Risk of Significant Prostate Cancer prior to biopsy - van Leeuwen - 2017 - BJU International - Wiley Online Library 
• New imaging technique may help some men avoid prostate biopsy - Harvard Health Blog - Harvard Health Publications   
• Evaluation of different mathematical models and different b-value ranges of diffusion-weighted imaging in peripheral zone prostate cancer detection using b-value up to 4500 s/mm2
• The evolving role of MRI imaging in undiagnosed prostate cancer | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK  
• Imaging of Prostate Cancer Using Gallium-68–Labeled Bombesin - PET Clinics
• Imaging of Prostate Cancer Using Fluciclovine - PET Clinics 
• Imaging of Prostate Cancer Using 11C-Choline PET/Computed Tomography - PET Clinics
• Ovid Insights: Long-term Results of a Comparative PET/CT and PET/MRI Study of 11 C-Acetate and 18 F-Fluorocholine for Restaging of Early Recurrent Prostate Cancer  
• Access : Imaging response during therapy with radium-223 for castration-resistant prostate cancer with bone metastases|[mdash]|analysis of an international multicenter database : Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases
• Are two PET radiotracers better than one? | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK 

Treatment

• Decision making and the treatment of localized prostate cancer today | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK
• Use of Evidence-Based Prostate Cancer Imaging in a Nongovernmental Integrated Health Care System: Journal of Oncology Practice: Vol 0, No 0
• The “hyping” of new forms of treatment for cancer | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK 

Active Surveillance AS

• The Influence of Psychosocial Constructs on the Adherence to Active Surveillance for Localized Prostate Cancer in a Prospective, Population-Based Cohort - Urology  

Surgery RP

frequently the first choice for localized PCa, robotic assist dominates:

• Adjuvant and Salvage Radiotherapy after Radical Prostatectomy in Prostate Cancer Patients. - PubMed - NCBI   
• Penis shrinkage, a side effect of prostate cancer surgery, is temporary
• Surviving Prostate Cancer through Advanced Diagnostics and Robot-Assisted Technology 

Radiation RT

• Trial of ADT and SBRT Versus SBRT for Intermediate Prostate Cancer   
• Lutetium-177 (Lu177) Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSMA)-Directed EndoRadiotherapy
• Vessel-sparing IMRT spares erectile function | THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK  
• Phase 3 Trial Data Show Use of SpaceOAR® Hydrogel Helps Maintain Erectile Function Following Prostate Cancer Radiation Treatment | Business Wire
• Ovid Insights: Adjuvant Radiotherapy Versus Wait-and-See Strategy for Pathologic T3 or Margin-Positive Prostate Cancer: A Meta-Analysis. 

Hormone ADT

 

• Trial of ADT and SBRT Versus SBRT for Intermediate Prostate Cancer   
• Antiandrogen Therapy and Radiation Therapy With or Without Docetaxel in Treating Patients With Prostate Cancer That Has Been Removed by Surgery
• Selectively Targeting the DNA-binding Domain of the Androgen Receptor as a Prospective Therapy for Prostate Cancer 

Chemo

•  Combinatorial effect of curcumin with docetaxel modulates apoptotic and cell survival molecules in prostate cancer. - PubMed - NCBI   
• Piecing the Puzzle Together: Docetaxel Cycles and Current Considerations in the Treatment of Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Cancer Biology & Therapy: Vol 0, No ja 
•  Oral Docetaxel (ModraDoc/r) in Combination With Hormonal Treatment and Radiation Therapy in High-risk Prostate Cancer
• Custirsen in combination with docetaxel and prednisone for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (SYNERGY trial): a phase 3, multicentre, open-label, randomised trial - The Lancet Oncology

Immunotherapy

• Immune Response Evaluation to Curative Conventional Therapy 

New Techniques

• Dr. Michael Lazar, Urologist and Prostate Cancer Specialist, Offers HIFU Presentation Online — BioPortfolio.com 
•  Vascular-Targeted Photodynamic Therapy Shows Promise in Low-Risk Prostate Cancer - The ASCO Post
• Focal Salvage HIFU in radiorecurrent prostate cancer - Kanthabalan - 2017 - BJU International - Wiley Online Library 

Side Effects

• Cognitive Effects of Androgen Deprivation Therapy in Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer. - PubMed - NCBI   
• Falls and Frailty in Prostate Cancer Survivors: Current, Past, and Never Users of Androgen Deprivation Therapy.
• Patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer have an increased risk of depressive disorder  
• Health-Related Quality of Life After the Diagnosis of Locally Advanced or Advanced Prostate Cancer: A Longitudinal Study. - PubMed - NCBI

Advanced/Recurrence

• Solitary PSMA-Positive Pulmonary Metastasis in Biochemical Relapse of Prostate Cancer. - PubMed - NCBI   
•  Radium Ra 223 Dichloride and Niraparib in Treating Patients With Hormone- Resistant Prostate Cancer Metastatic to the Bone
•  The treatment patterns of castration-resistant prostate cancer in Japan, including symptomatic skeletal events and associated treatment and healthcare resource use: Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research: Vol 0, No 0
•  Phase II Study of Docetaxel Before Degarelix in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Metastatic Prostate Cancer. - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov
• Metabolic Change in Prostate Cancer Bone Metastases on 68Ga-HBED-CC-PSMA (DKFZ-11) PET/CT Following Radium-223 Therapy - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov
• "Gotta Catch 'em All", or Do We? Pokemet Approach to Metastatic Prostate Cancer. 
• Navigating the evolving therapeutic landscape in advanced prostate cancer - Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations

NASA Releases Software Catalog for Public Access

NASA Releases Software Catalog | NASA



NASA has released its 2017-2018 software catalog, which offers an extensive portfolio of software products for a wide variety of technical applications, all free of charge to the public, without any royalty or copyright fees. Available in both hard copy and online, this third edition of the publication has contributions from all the agency’s centers on data processing/storage, business systems, operations, propulsion and aeronautics. While access US or US government use release restrictions apply to the majority of codes, there are a significant number of open source and general public release items and NASA has automated and updated its software release process over the last two years to ensure that it is as quick, easy and straightforward as possible.

The software catalog is a product of NASA’s Technology Transfer program, managed for the agency by STMD. The program ensures technologies developed for missions in exploration and discovery are broadly available to the public, maximizing the benefit to the nation.
For a searchable PDF of the software catalog, please visit: http://software.nasa.gov
To learn more about NASA’s Technology Transfer program, visit; http://technology.nasa.gov

Application Categories:

• Aeronautics
• Autonomous Systems
• Business Systems and Project Management
• Crew and Life Support
• Data Servers Processing and Handling
• Data and Image Processing
• Design and Integration Tools
• Electronics and Electrical Power
• Environmental Science (Earth, Air, Space, Exoplanet)
• Materials and Processes
• Operations
• Propulsion
• Structures and Mechanisms
• System Testing
• Vehicle Management (Space/Air/Ground)

Release Type

• Open Source (210 packages)
• General Public Release (54 packages)
• U.S. and Foreign Release (22 packages)
• U.S. Release Only (192 packages)
• U.S. Government Purpose Release (497 packages)

Some Potentially Useful Open Source/Public Accessible Applications:

Worldview Canvas

• Langley Formal Methods Program • ACCoRD Conflict-Detection (CD3D)/Conflict-Resolution (CR3D) Algorithms Written in Java and C and based on the Airborne Coordinated Conflict Detection and Resolution mathematical framework, CD3D and CR3D are prototype implementations of state-based conflict-detection and conflict-resolution algorithms for a 3D airspace.
  
  
• Extendable Uniform Remote Operations Planning Architecture (EUROPA) 2.1
  EUROPA is a general-purpose, reusable, artificial intelligence software system. The tool generates plans for performing complex activities in parallel. Functionality includes the capability of verifying that a plan satisfies all constraints.
  
• Open Source at Ames - Mission Simulation ToolKit
  Mission Simulation Toolkit (MST) offers a simulation framework to support research in autonomy for remote exploration. The system allows developers to test models in a high-fidelity simulation and then evaluate system performance against a set of integrated, standardized simulations.
• "Worldview" satellite imagery browsing and downloading tool
  Worldview is a software tool designed for interactively browsing and downloading imagery from NASA's Earth observing satellites. Building upon a set of open source mapping and user interface libraries, it provides an environment to visually discover interesting phenomena as observed by NASA satellites, then download the data for further analysis. It was originally designed to address the needs of the near real time applications community to provide relevant information for time-critical scenarios such as wildfire and flood management. As such, satellite imagery is available to be viewed in Worldview within four hours of observation, the imagery can be viewed in its highest, or native, resolution, and the imagery can be panned and zoomed rapidly through space and time to find the most relevant/cloud-free/etc information available. 

Related/Background

• Software Catalog- Autonomous Systems Public/Open Source
• The NASA 2017-2018 Catalog of Free Software Is Now Available
•  NASA Software Catalog Offers Treasure Trove of Coding Tools - Software Reviews
•  NASA Opens Free Software Catalog To The Public: Perfect For Experimental Earthlings : TECH : Tech Times
• NASA's Software Catalog
• NASA Releases Latest Software Catalog to Public
• Software catalog released by NASA - Military Embedded Systems
• Open Source & Public Requirements Search 
  

map of oncology facilities in california - Google Maps

California Hospitals and Health Systems With Great Oncology Programs

In California, there are many health care facilities which offer oncology care for cancer patients. Patients seek quality care without totally disrupting their lives or traveling great distances, since many regimens require sophisticated equipment and repeated visits over an extended period of time. In picking a doctor, they want to look for one with privileges at a good institution.

http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/lists/100-hospitals-and-health-systems-with-great-oncology-programs.html 

Written by Molly Gamble and Anuja Vaidya
| February 22, 2013 | Print | Email

  

Becker's Hospital Review has named "100 US Hospitals and Health Systems With Great Oncology Programs." These 10 hospitals excerpted from the list are located in California and are on the cutting edge of cancer treatment, prevention and research, and the Becker's Hospital Review editorial team selected them based on clinical accolades, quality care and contributions to the field of oncology.

These hospitals have been recognized for excellence in this specialty by reputable healthcare rating resources, including U.S. News & World Report, Thomson Reuters, the National Cancer Institute, the American College of Surgeons, the American Nurses Credentialing Center and CareChex. Each organization has demonstrated a focus on patient-centered cancer care and emphasis on continual innovation in treatments and services. Many of these organizations also have a place in the history of cancer prevention and research, as they've driven groundbreaking discoveries and made clinical milestones.

Note: This list is not an endorsement of included hospitals or associated healthcare providers, and hospitals cannot pay to be included on this list. The following content should be used for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute professional medical advice. Hospitals and health systems are presented in alphabetical order.

1.      Cedars Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles). The Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars Sinai offers patients a hub model comprised of multidisciplinary teams. Tumor boards, organized by specific types of cancer, help patients design treatment plans. Patients also have access to Cedars Sinai's 24-hour outpatient cancer center, which treats more than 9,000 patients each year. The center is home to basic oncology research, along with clinical trials. In October, it launched a project in partnership with Balitmore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine that allows all men diagnosed with prostate cancer to have their disease tracked in a secure and interactive online patient portal.

2.      City of Hope National Medical Center (Duarte, Calif.). City of Hope National Medical Center, an independent medical and research center, was founded in 1913 and is located about 20 miles outside of Los Angeles. It's one of 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Several breakthrough cancer drugs, including Herceptin and Avastin, are based on technology that was pioneered by City of Hope, and the center's division of clinical cancer genetics has been instrumental in understanding cancer's genetic roots.

3.      Eisenhower Medical Center (Rancho Mirage, Calif.). The Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center, a recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, treats roughly 3,000 newly diagnosed cancer patients each year. The center includes specific centers for prostate cancer, breast care and cancer, infusion services and radiation oncology. Through its affiliation with Stanford Cancer Center, Eisenhower Medical Center also offers patients access to National Cancer Institute-endorsed Phase III clinical trials.

4.      Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian (Newport Beach, Calif.). The Hoag Family Cancer Institute, a recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, treats more than 3,300 newly diagnosed patients each year, making it the largest-volume provider in Orange County. This past spring, Hoag began enrolling patients in a new late-stage clinical trial for glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Each year, more than 400 patients participate in the center's hereditary cancer program, which helps patients assess their cancer risk through genetic testing.

5.      Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles). Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center has more than 240 researchers and clinicians. Some successful targeted therapies — treatments that inhibit the growth mechanisms in tumors — like Herceptin were developed based on research conducted at the center. The center has maintained its designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute since 1976.    

6.      Stanford (Calif.) Hospital & Clinics. More than 300 physicians participate in cancer care, translational medicine and clinical research at Stanford Cancer Institute, which offers more than 250 active clinical trials. The institute is currently recruiting for a clinical trial that aims to identify and characterize novel proteins and genes in head and neck cancer. Stanford Cancer Institute is a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center — one of approximately 40 in the country.

7.      University of California Davis Medical Center (Sacramento). The University of California Davis Cancer Center focuses on both clinical care and research. In 2012, UC Davis researchers discovered a new target for lung cancer treatment. The cancer center is also dedicated to understanding why cancer affects people differently, and it established a Population Sciences and Health Disparities Program to further its findings. The University of California Davis Medical Center was named to the 2012-2013 list of top-ranked hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report.

8.      University of California San Diego Medical Center. The University of San Diego Moores Cancer Center, established in 1979, is comprised of two structures — a three-story facility for clinical services and a five-story research tower. The center is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the country, and the University of California San Diego Medical Center was also ranked among the top 50 hospitals nationwide for cancer care in 2012-2013 by U.S. News & World Report.

9.      University of California San Francisco Medical Center. In 2011, the University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center diagnosed 6,453 individuals with cancer, and its investigators led 262 interventional trials, according to the most recent data available. The center has more than 370 medical professionals, including faculty investigators in laboratory, clinical and population-based research. The center is a member of the Association of American Cancer Institutes, a group made up of leading research centers in the nation that focus on cancer treatment, patient care and community outreach, as well as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers.  

10.  USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center (Los Angeles). The USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center is home to more than 200 scientists and physicians. The cancer center was one of the first eight National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the country. Over the years, it has been responsible for many important scientific advances in cancer research, including clarifying the links between steroid hormones and breast and prostate cancer. More recently, research identifying certain genes that have to be turned off for cancer cells to survive, conducted at the center, was named one of the 20 major advances in cancer research in 2012 by the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Related/Background:

• map of oncology facilities in california - Google Maps
• PET scan centers in California CA
• Database of Long-Term follow up clinics in the United States - NCCS 
• Hospital Search | US News Best Hospitals 
• Cancer Avenues | Best Cancer Hospitals: Top 50 List

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