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Some physicists still have questions on the true origin of the BICEP2 findings

It was just a week ago that the news blew through the scientific world like a storm: researchers from the BICEP2 project at the South Pole Telescope had detected unambiguous evidence of primordial gravitational waves in the cosmic microwave background, the residual rippling of space and time created by the sudden inflation of the Universe less than a billionth of a billionth of a second after the Big Bang. With whispers of Nobel nominations quickly rising in the science news wings, the teams findings were hailed as the best direct evidence yet of cosmic inflation, possibly even supporting the existence of a multitude of other universes besides our own.

That is, if they really do indicate what they appear to. Some theorists are advising that we put the champagne back in the fridge at least for now.

Theoretical physicists and cosmologistsJames Dent, Lawrence Krauss, and Harsh Mathurhave submitted a brief paper (arXiv:1403.5166[astro-ph.CO]) stating that, while groundbreaking, the BICEP2 Collaboration findings have yet to rule out all possible non-inflation sources of the observed B-mode polarization patterns and the surprisingly large value of r, the ratio of power in tensor modes to scalar density perturbations.

However, while there is little doubt that inflation at the Grand Unified Scale is the best motivated source of such primordial waves, it is important to demonstrate that other possible sources cannot account for the current BICEP2 data before definitely claiming Inflation has been proved.

Dent, Krauss, and Mathur (arXiv:1403.5166[astro-ph.CO])

The history of the universe starting the with the Big Bang. Image credit: grandunificationtheory.com

Inflation may very well be the cause and Dent and company state right off the bat that there is little doubt that inflation at the Grand Unified Scale is the best motivated source of such primordial waves but theres also a possibility, however remote, that some other, later cosmic event is responsible for at least some if not all of the BICEP2 measurements. (Hence the name of the paper: Killing the Straw Man: Does BICEP Prove Inflation?)

Not intending to entirely rain out the celebration, Dent, Krauss, and Mathur do laud the BICEP2 findings as invaluable to physics, stating that theywill be very important for constraining physics beyond the standard model, whether or not inflation is responsible for the entire BICEP2 signal, even though existing data from cosmology is strongly suggestive that it does.

More:

Cosmologists Cast Doubt on Inflation Evidence

Research in Astrophysics covers theory, observation, and instrumentation,with investigations focused on exoplanets, brown dwarfs, the formation of planets, stars, and galaxies, the evolution of stars and gas in the universe, and large-scale surveys.

The Department has at its disposal a state-of-the-art optics lab used to produce cutting-edge astronomical instruments, access to high-end computing systems, and, in addition to being a partner on the South Africa Large Telescope, regularly uses optical, radio, infrared, ultraviolet, and X-ray observatories both worldwide and in space.

Staff consists of tenured faculty (curators), postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and other members who support ongoing research in the department.

We track our Departments events in a publicly viewable Google Calendar. Department colloquia typically take place in the Perkin Reading Room, located on the 5th floor of the Rose Center for Earth and Space.

Researchers in the department participate and oversee education and professional development programs that lead toward advanced degrees.

Members of the Department of Astrophysics help create exhibits and provide scientific expertise to many educational programs and outreach services in the Museum.

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Astrophysics - AMNH

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A Bristol filmmaker has created his own personal tribute to the city.

Jamie Brightmore is a digital designer who makes films using time-lapse photography in his spare-time.

His latest offering Welcome to Bristol is filmed in key sites around the city and aims to capture the spirit of Bristol.

The video is a follow-up to Jamies video tribute to Bristol's Gromit Unleashed arts trail which took place last summer.

The 38-year-old from Montpelier said: I am an experienced digital designer specialising in front-end web design and development.

I run a small creative studio in Bristol which specialises in bespoke design, web development, and digital device apps.

But I am nurturing a hunger to learn as much as possible about the creative industry I work within, alongside my fascination with physics, astronomy, geology, astro-physics, time, and cosmology.

He said: I made the film for a couple of reasons; firstly I thought it would be worthwhile to embark on capturing the spirit of the city.

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M_Ribbeck commented The spirit of Bristol caught on video by filmmaker and designer

Mark T. Lemmon, Michael J. Wolff, James F. Bell III, Michael D. Smith, Bruce A. Cantor, Peter H. Smith

(Submitted on 17 Mar 2014)

Dust aerosol plays a fundamental role in the behavior and evolution of the Martian atmosphere. The first five Mars years of Mars Exploration Rover data provide an unprecedented record of the dust load at two sites. This record is useful for characterization of the atmosphere at the sites and as ground truth for orbital observations. Atmospheric extinction optical depths have been derived from solar images after calibration and correction for time-varying dust that has accumulated on the camera windows.

The record includes local, regional, and globally extensive dust storms. Comparison with contemporaneous thermal infrared data suggests significant variation in the size of the dust aerosols, with a 1 {mu}m effective radius during northern summer and a 2 {mu}m effective radius at the onset of a dust lifting event. The solar longitude (LS) 20-136{deg} period is also characterized by the presence of cirriform clouds at the Opportunity site, especially near LS=50 and 115{deg}.

In addition to water ice clouds, a water ice haze may also be present, and carbon dioxide clouds may be present early in the season. Variations in dust opacity are important to the energy balance of each site, and work with seasonal variations in insolation to control dust devil frequency at the Spirit site.

Comments: 60 pages, 12 figures, to be published in Icarus

Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics (physics.ao-ph)

Cite as: arXiv:1403.4234 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:1403.4234v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)

Submission history From: Mark Lemmon [v1] Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:17:24 GMT (1724kb)

Original post:

Dust aerosol, clouds, and the atmospheric optical depth record over 5 Mars years of the Mars Exploration Rover mission

An international team of astronomers has completed a benchmark study of more than 300 galaxies, producing the largest census of dust in the local universe, the Herschel Reference Survey. Led by Dr. Luca Cortese from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, the team used the Herschel Space Observatory to observe galaxies at far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths and captured the light directly emitted by dust grains. The results appear in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.These dust grains are believed to be fundamental ingredients for the formation of stars and planets, but until now very little was known about their abundance and physical properties in galaxies other than our own Milky Way, said Dr. Cortese.Cosmic dust is heated by starlight to temperatures of only a few tens of degrees above absolute zero, and can thus be only seen at far-infrared/submillimeter wavelengths.The two cameras on board the Herschel satellite, SPIRE and PACS, allowed astronomers to probe different frequencies of dust emission, which bear imprints on the physical properties of the grains and therefore were critical for this study. Although the SPIRE data were obtained three years ago, the team had to wait for the completion of the PACS survey last year.The long wait was worthwhile, as the combination of the PACS and SPIRE data shows that the properties of grains vary from one galaxy to another -- more than we originally expected. As dust is heated by starlight, we knew that the frequencies at which grains emit should be related to a galaxys star formation activity. However, our results show that galaxies chemical history plays an equally important role, commented Dr. Cortese.Co-author of the work, Dr. Jacopo Fritz, from Ghent University in Belgium, said: This affects our ability to accurately estimate how much dust is in the universe. It is particularly an issue for the most distant galaxies, which have a star formation and chemical history significantly different to the one in our own Milky Way.The data obtained for the Herschel Reference Survey have been made publicly available to allow further studies of dust properties in nearby galaxies. Although the Herschel Space Telescope completed its mission in April 2013, the combination of data in the Herschel archive, with future observations from the newly commissioned Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, will help astronomers to further unveil the mystery of cosmic dust in galaxies in the years to come.Media Contacts:Lea KivivaliSwinburne University of Technology, Australia+61 3 9214 5428, cell: +61 410 569 311lkivivali@swin.edu.auMarkus BauerESA Science and Robotic Exploration Communication Officer+31 71 565 6799, cell: +31 61 594 3954markus.bauer@esa.intScience Contacts:Luca CorteseSwinburne University of Technology, Australialcortese@swin.edu.suGran PilbrattESA Herschel Project Scientist+31 71 565 3621gpilbratt@rssd.esa.intProf. Steve EalesSchool of Physics and AstronomyCardiff University+44 (0)2920 876168steve.eales@astro.cf.ac.ukThe team included researchers from Swinburne University of Technology, European Southern Observatory, Ghent University, Arcetri Observatory, Laboratory of Astrophysics of Marseille, University of Crete, Jodrell Bank Center for Astrophysics, University of Cambridge, Institut dAstrophysique de Paris, Padova Observatory, University of California, Heidelberg University, Cardiff University, University of Paris VII, Max-Planck-Institute for extragalactic astronomy, INAF-Roma, University of the Western Cape, Joint ALMA Observatory.The research is published in PACS photometry of the Herschel Reference Survey -- far-infrared/submillimeter colors as tracers of dust properties in nearby galaxies, L. Cortese, J. Fritz, S. Bianchi, A. Boselli, L. Ciesla, G. J. Bendo, M. Boquien, H. Roussel, M. Baes, V. Buat, M. Clemens, A. Cooray, D. Cormier, J. I. Davies, I. De Looze, S. A. Eales, C. Fuller, L. K. Hunt, S. Madden, J. Munoz-Mateos, C. Pappalardo, D. Pierini, A. Remy-Ruyer, M. Sauvage, S. di Serego Alighieri, M. W. L. Smith, L. Spinoglio, M. Vaccari and C. Vlahakis, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Oxford University Press, in press.http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1093/mnras/stu175Images, Captions, and Creditshttps://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories/press/Herschel%20dust%201.jpgCaption: Galaxies in the Herschel Reference Survey. The images are presented in false-color to highlight different dust temperatures, with blue and red representing colder and warmer regions respectively. Credit: ESA/Herschel/HRS-SAG2 and HeViCS Key Programs/L. Cortese (Swinburne University)https://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories/press/Herschel%20dust%202.jpgCaption: The Herschel Reference Survey at infrared wavelengths. Collage of galaxies in the Herschel Reference Survey, the largest census of cosmic dust in the local universe. The galaxies are presented in false-color to highlight different dust temperatures, with blue and red representing colder and warmer regions respectively. The collage is presented with dust-rich, spiral and irregular galaxies in the top left, and giant, dust-poor elliptical galaxies in the bottom-right. The images were composed from PACS and SPIRE observations at 100, 160 and 250 micron. Credit: ESA/Herschel/HRS-SAG2 and HeViCS Key Programs/L. Cortese (Swinburne University)https://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories/press/Herschel%20dust%203.jpgCaption: The Herschel Reference Survey at visible wavelengths. Collage of the 323 galaxies in the Herschel Reference Survey, shown at visible wavelengths by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The color distribution highlights different stellar ages, with red and blue indicating older and younger stars, respectively. Credit: Sloan Digital Sky Survey/L. Cortese (Swinburne University)The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS,http://www.ras.org.uk), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. The RAS organizes scientific meetings, publishes international research and review journals, recognizes outstanding achievements by the award of medals and prizes, maintains an extensive library, supports education through grants and outreach activities and represents UK astronomy nationally and internationally. Its more than 3800 members (Fellows), a third based overseas, include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories as well as historians of astronomy and others.

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Astronomers Complete Cosmic Dust Census

NASAs looking for help in identifying potentially dangerous asteroids.

This usually isnt a good sign.

When authorities ask the general public to help them do their jobs its an indication of trouble.

Police detectives solicit the public in providing leads for their investigations only when those investigations have reached a dead end.

And when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came up with the 2013 Python Challenge, a call for members of the public to compete for prize money in a hunt for Burmese pythons in the Everglades, it was a sure sign that the traditional methods for getting rid of those big snakes had failed.

So Im not cheered by NASAs latest plan to do a better job at identifying the number, size and location of asteroids hurtling by the planet.

Be an asteroid hunter in NASAs First Asteroid Grand Challenge Contest Series, the space agency announced for the contest that began on Monday.

NASAs offering $35,000 in prize money over the next six months to citizen scientists who develop improved algorithms that can be used to identify asteroids.

And you thought that finding pythons in the Everglades was tough.

NASAs trying to make this sound like lots of fun.

View post:

Cerabino: NASAs plan to create public asteroid hunters is full of (black) holes

James R. A. Davenport, Morgan Fouesneau, Erin Grand, Alex Hagen, Katja Poppenhaeger, Laura L. Watkins

(Submitted on 12 Mar 2014)

We present a study on the gender balance, in speakers and attendees, at the recent major astronomical conference, the American Astronomical Society meeting 223, in Washington, DC. We conducted an informal survey, yielding over 300 responses by volunteers at the meeting. Each response included gender data about a single talk given at the meeting, recording the gender of the speaker and all question-askers.

In total, 225 individual AAS talks were sampled. We analyze basic statistical properties of this sample. We find that the gender ratio of the speakers closely matched the gender ratio of the conference attendees. The audience asked an average of 2.8 questions per talk. Talks given by women had a slightly higher number of questions asked (3.2 +/- 0.2) than talks given by men (2.6 +/- 0.1).

The most significant result from this study is that while the gender ratio of speakers very closely mirrors that of conference attendees, women are under-represented in the question-asker category. We interpret this to be an age-effect, as senior scientists may be more likely to ask questions, and are more commonly men. A strong dependence on the gender of session chairs is found, whereby women ask disproportionately fewer questions in sessions chaired by men. While our results point to laudable progress in gender-balanced speaker selection, we believe future surveys of this kind would help ensure that collaboration at such meetings is as inclusive as possible.

Comments: 4 pages, 5 figures. Comments welcomed

Subjects: Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph); Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)

Cite as: arXiv:1403.3091 [physics.soc-ph] (or arXiv:1403.3091v1 [physics.soc-ph] for this version)

Submission history From: James RA Davenport

The rest is here:

Studying Gender in Conference Talks: Data From 223rd American Astronomical Society Meeting

The Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, Mr Shun Chi-ming, spoke on the updated weather forecast for this year and updated projection for Hong Kong due to climate change, as well as the Observatory's upcoming initiatives at the press briefing today (17 March). Mr Shun, together with the Controller (TV) of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Miss Chan Man-kuen, also announced the launch of "Meteorology Series IV".

Mr Shun pointed to the outbreak of abnormal weather events around the world in recent years, such as severe flooding in the United Kingdom, record heat wave in Australia, snowstorms in North America, as clear signs that the impact of climate change was already being felt, and that we would expect more of the same. While 2013 was the sixth warmest year on instrumental records, temperatures in Hong Kong exhibited rather large fluctuations in the past few months. Part of the reasons could be attributed to the occurrence of atmospheric "blocking" situation which, according to some scientific studies, might be related to the melting of Arctic ice due to global warming. The forecasting of such fluctuating weather would inevitably become more challenging in the future.

Regarding the weather outlook for 2014, the Observatory expects the annual rainfall to be normal to below-normal. However, as abnormal weather, including rainstorms, might still occur from time to time, Mr Shun reminded the public to remain vigilant against the threat of inclement weather and take appropriate precautionary measures. For tropical cyclones, considering that sea surface temperature over the central and eastern equatorial Pacific would remain normal in spring, the Observatory expects the number of tropical cyclones coming within 500 km of Hong Kong to be near normal, i.e. between four and seven, and the typhoon season would start in June or later.

Based on the Fifth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released last September, the Observatory reviewed the rainfall trends in Hong Kong in the 21st century. "We anticipate an increase in the number of extremely wet years in the 21st century, while the likelihood of drought episodes still remains," Mr Shun said. For details, please refer to http://www.hko.gov.hk/climate_change/ClimProj20140317-e.pdf.

Looking ahead, Mr Shun highlighted the new services to be launched by the Observatory in the coming year, including the extension of weather forecast period from seven days to nine days starting from April, so that the public could take note of weather changes earlier for planning their activities ahead. Subsequent to the launch of the 9-day Weather Forecast, the contents of the mobile app "MyObservatory" will also be enhanced progressively.

For night sky observations, the Observatory together with the Hong Kong Space Museum and the Department of Physics of the University of Hong Kong jointly launched the "Weather Information for Astronomical Observation" webpage (http://www.weather.gov.hk/gts/astronomy/astro_portal.html) today. This webpage is a platform to provide weather information for astronomical observation hot spots in Hong Kong to facilitate stargazers in planning their astronomical observation activities. The webpage contents include the latest all sky image, night sky brightness, weather observation and digital weather forecast at astronomical observation hot spots. The latest star map and other useful astronomical information are also available.

On weather observation, the Observatory continues to enhance and optimise the automatic weather station network, and plans to progressively increase observation sites, including the Kai Tak Runway Park, Yuen Long Park, Sheung Shui and Lamma Island, to provide useful and timely weather information for the public.

To further promote weather observation among the public, especially for the younger generation, the Observatory collaborates with the Department of Applied Physics of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in implementing the "Community Weather Observing Scheme" (CWOS) to encourage the public to undertake first-hand weather observations by uploading and sharing weather photos and observation reports through the website (co-win.org), mobile app (iCWeatherOS) and social network (www.facebook.com/icwos).

Looking back to the 130th anniversary of the Hong Kong Observatory last year, Mr Shun highlighted the well-received exhibition and series of public lectures conducted jointly with the Hong Kong Museum of History. A web-based platform has been set up for re-visiting the exhibits at the website: http://www.weather.gov.hk/hko_virtualtour/vtour/vtour_e/index.html.

The Observatory has made significant progress in enhancing weather information services last year, including the launch of self-produced high definition TV weather programmes "Weather-on-Air" and a weekly educational feature "Cool Met Stuff". The programmes are uploaded to the Observatory webpage, the "MyObservatory" mobile app and YouTube for viewing by the public anytime and anywhere.

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Director of Hong Kong Observatory highlights the Observatorys latest developments (17 March 2014)

-All Dates- Today Tomorrow This Weekend This Week -------------------- Thursday, March 13 Friday, March 14 Saturday, March 15 Sunday, March 16 Monday, March 17 Tuesday, March 18 Wednesday, March 19 Thursday, March 20 Friday, March 21 Saturday, March 22 Sunday, March 23 Monday, March 24 Tuesday, March 25 Wednesday, March 26 Thursday, March 27 Friday, March 28 Saturday, March 29 Sunday, March 30 Monday, March 31 Tuesday, April 1 Wednesday, April 2 Thursday, April 3 Friday, April 4 Saturday, April 5 Sunday, April 6 Monday, April 7 Tuesday, April 8 Wednesday, April 9 Thursday, April 10 Friday, April 11 Saturday, April 12 -All Event Categories- ARTS AGENDA Classical Music Comedy Film Museums Readings & Signings Spoken Word Theater/Dance/Performance Art Visual Arts COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS Benefits & Fundraisers Clubs & Organizations Family Festivals/Events Gay & Lesbian Health & Fitness Holiday Lectures, Classes & Seminars Nightlife Sex & Love Singles Sports & Recreation Support Groups Volunteers/Public Life FOOD & DRINK Culinary Wine/Cocktails MUSIC EVENTS Blues/Roots/International Classical/Jazz/Smooth Country/Folk DJ/Electronic General Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B Pop/Rock -All Dates- Today Tomorrow This Weekend This Week -------------------- Thursday, March 13 Friday, March 14 Saturday, March 15 Sunday, March 16 Monday, March 17 Tuesday, March 18 Wednesday, March 19 Thursday, March 20 Friday, March 21 Saturday, March 22 Sunday, March 23 Monday, March 24 Tuesday, March 25 Wednesday, March 26 Thursday, March 27 Friday, March 28 Saturday, March 29 Sunday, March 30 Monday, March 31 Tuesday, April 1 Wednesday, April 2 Thursday, April 3 Friday, April 4 Saturday, April 5 Sunday, April 6 Monday, April 7 Tuesday, April 8 Wednesday, April 9 Thursday, April 10 Friday, April 11 Saturday, April 12 -All Neighborhoods- General Charlotte Area NORTH CHARLOTTE Concord/Kannapolis Dilworth Lake Norman University North End EAST SIDE East Charlotte Elizabeth NoDa Plaza Midwood CENTRAL CHARLOTTE Midtown Uptown SOUTH CHARLOTTE Ballantyne Matthews/Southeast Charlotte Myers Park Pineville/Hwy 51 South Charlotte South End SouthPark/Cotswold WEST CHARLOTTE Gastonia FreeMore West Westside SOUTH CAROLINA Fort Mill Rock Hill

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The Pull List (3/12/13): Setting sail with new titles

In its first airing, Cosmos created a new star, Cornell astronomer Carl Sagan. The seminal series opened the eyes of millions to the universe and made a science celebrity out of Sagan.

Now astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson is stepping up to star in a 13-part remake of the series on the National Geographic Channel and Fox. The first show airs on Sunday, March 9 (at 9 p.m. ET/PT), and will be broadcast in more than 70 nationsthe biggest launch ever for a global TV series.

National Geographic spoke to Tyson, the director of the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium, about life, the universe, and the "cosmic perspective" Cosmos will offer viewers.

Q: Why re-create Cosmos? Why now?

A: Any time is good for Cosmos. A lot of things have come together to make this the right time to do it. We have come so far in the last 34 yearsmore than a generation. Clearly its time for another Cosmos.

Since then we have discovered a thousand new planets. A lot has changed.

Back in 1980 we were trapped in a Cold War mind-set, which polarized people and affected everything. People thought of the environment as a local thing. They didn't think of the global environment and how we are all connected. (Click the video below to watch an interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson.)

What's new about this Cosmos?

With Cosmos, this version, we're able to bring a whole tool kit of storytelling cinematics to bear on the science, the history, the culture, and the politics to fill people with a sense of wonder about our universe.

It might even impact people spiritually. I mean that with a little s. Thats the reaction some people might feel by gaining the cosmic perspectiveseeing that we are just a small part of the vastness of everything. But that can be emotionally fulfilling in a very deep way.

Read the original here:

Q&A: Neil deGrasse Tyson Unveils the Cosmos

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has issued a new white paper, "A review of safety, quality management, and practice guidelines for high-dose-rate brachytherapy," that recommends specific guidance to follow in the delivery of high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy to improve quality and patient safety, according to the manuscript published in the March-April 2014 print issue of Practical Radiation Oncology (PRO), the official clinical practice journal of ASTRO.

Commissioned by ASTRO's Board of Directors as part of the Target Safely campaign, the white paper evaluates the current safety and practice guidance for HDR brachytherapy, makes recommendations for guidance applications to the delivery of HDR brachytherapy, suggests topics where additional guidance is needed and examines the adequacy of general physics, quality assurance (QA) and clinical guidance currently available for the most common treatment sites with regard to patient safety. The manuscript also addresses HDR brachytherapy procedures, the use of checklists and forms, the multidisciplinary treatment team, challenges to maintaining safe use of HDR brachytherapy and key measures for avoiding catastrophic failure.

To ensure correct actions are followed for a specific brachytherapy procedure, the white paper recommends the use of a quality management program, including checklists and forms to maintain quality and prevent errors. ASTRO's white paper references the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group (TG) 59 report that includes examples of forms for quality control and checklists for the various stages of treatment, which can be customized by the treatment team. The AAPM TG-100 report that includes the tools and process for creating an effective quality management program is also cited.

Due to the multidisciplinary nature of HDR brachytherapy treatment, the modality requires coordination among several clinicians to treat the patient accurately and safely. The white paper details the roles and qualifications of those directly involved with radiation therapy decisions: the radiation oncologist, medical physicist, medical dosimetrist, radiation therapist and surgeon. The roles and qualifications are based on ASTRO's Safety is No Accident: A Framework for Quality Radiation Oncology and Care, a comprehensive book detailing minimum recommended guidelines for radiation oncology practices, and the AAPM TG 59 report specific to HDR brachytherapy.

The white paper addresses 12 anticipated challenges to maintaining quality in HDR brachytherapy because of the constant changes in the modality. Anticipated challenges include the replacement of the traditional radiation therapy simulator with a computed tomographic simulator, which requires significant changes in how HDR brachytherapy procedures are performed; the use of new procedures and methods, which can lead to mistakes due to inadequate training, QA or inappropriate procedures; the proliferation of devices, applicators and radionuclides used for brachytherapy treatment, which leads to an increased number of possible processes, types of equipment and clinical uses, making it increasingly difficult to determine how to assure that all of the variations are used with appropriate process control and quality management; and the potential for increased use of model-based algorithms such as Monte Carlo methods for dose calculations for brachytherapy sources, which will require new procedures for commissioning, new algorithm QA and new patient-specific planning checks. The full list of anticipated challenges is available in the supplemental material.

The manuscript makes seven recommendations for improved safety and quality in HDR brachytherapy. The white paper recommends that practitioners follow relevant guidance documents and that deviation from consensus recommendations should be supported by clinical studies or pursued in the setting of a clinical trial approved by an institutional review board; that practitioners receive training in a new procedure before beginning its practice, that the training should include a practical, "hands-on" component and that all team members directly involved with the radiation therapy decisions should participate in at least five proctored cases before performing similar procedures independently; and that professional societies should accelerate the generation of new or updated guidance documents for the following disease sites and techniques: skin, central nervous system, gastrointestinal, lung or endobronchial and esophagus, and, while outside the charge of this panel, assess the need for updated guidance documents for accelerated partial breast irradiation using electronic brachytherapy. The complete list of recommendations is available in the supplemental material.

The white paper describes six benchmarks to provide facilities with measures to evaluate compliance with the seven recommendations in the manuscript. The six benchmarks are: 1) HDR brachytherapy procedures are supported with the appropriate team as described in the report of the AAPM TG 59 and the American College of Radiology HDR Brachytherapy Practice Standard; 2) commissioning of the treatment unit, treatment planning system and each new source is performed by a qualified medical physicist and verified through a QA process; 3) assay of the HDR brachytherapy unit source is performed using a well-type ionization chamber with a calibration traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and this assay is performed or confirmed for each source change. Planning system source strength parameters must be updated with each source change; 4) treatments are performed according to the guidelines from the American Brachytherapy Society when available for the treatment site; 5) treatment plans and programs are checked through independent verification before treatment delivery; and 6) daily QA checks of the HDR brachytherapy system are performed before any treatment.

"As the technology and use of HDR brachytherapy advances, it is imperative that clinical, physics and quality assurance guidance be reviewed and updated, as necessary, to ensure quality and patient safety in the treatment delivery," said Bruce R. Thomadsen, PhD, a professor in the Department of Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. "This white paper affirms that HDR brachytherapy is a safe treatment option when current process guidance is followed and appropriate clinical decisions are made based on clinical guidance provided in white papers such as this."

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The above story is based on materials provided by American Society for Radiation Oncology. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Guidance for optimal quality, safety of HDR brachytherapy

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Newswise Fairfax, Va., March 5, 2014 The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has issued a new white paper, A review of safety, quality management, and practice guidelines for high-dose-rate brachytherapy, that recommends specific guidance to follow in the delivery of high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy to improve quality and patient safety, according to the manuscript published in the March-April 2014 print issue of Practical Radiation Oncology (PRO), the official clinical practice journal of ASTRO. The executive summary and supplemental material are also available as open-access articles online at http://www.practicalradonc.org.

Commissioned by ASTROs Board of Directors as part of the Target Safely campaign, the white paper evaluates the current safety and practice guidance for HDR brachytherapy, makes recommendations for guidance applications to the delivery of HDR brachytherapy, suggests topics where additional guidance is needed and examines the adequacy of general physics, quality assurance (QA) and clinical guidance currently available for the most common treatment sites with regard to patient safety. The manuscript also addresses HDR brachytherapy procedures, the use of checklists and forms, the multidisciplinary treatment team, challenges to maintaining safe use of HDR brachytherapy and key measures for avoiding catastrophic failure.

To ensure correct actions are followed for a specific brachytherapy procedure, the white paper recommends the use of a quality management program, including checklists and forms to maintain quality and prevent errors. ASTROs white paper references the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group (TG) 59 report that includes examples of forms for quality control and checklists for the various stages of treatment, which can be customized by the treatment team. The AAPM TG-100 report that includes the tools and process for creating an effective quality management program is also cited.

Due to the multidisciplinary nature of HDR brachytherapy treatment, the modality requires coordination among several clinicians to treat the patient accurately and safely. The white paper details the roles and qualifications of those directly involved with radiation therapy decisions: the radiation oncologist, medical physicist, medical dosimetrist, radiation therapist and surgeon. The roles and qualifications are based on ASTROs Safety is No Accident: A Framework for Quality Radiation Oncology and Care, a comprehensive book detailing minimum recommended guidelines for radiation oncology practices, and the AAPM TG 59 report specific to HDR brachytherapy.

The white paper addresses 12 anticipated challenges to maintaining quality in HDR brachytherapy because of the constant changes in the modality. Anticipated challenges include the replacement of the traditional radiation therapy simulator with a computed tomographic simulator, which requires significant changes in how HDR brachytherapy procedures are performed; the use of new procedures and methods, which can lead to mistakes due to inadequate training, QA or inappropriate procedures; the proliferation of devices, applicators and radionuclides used for brachytherapy treatment, which leads to an increased number of possible processes, types of equipment and clinical uses, making it increasingly difficult to determine how to assure that all of the variations are used with appropriate process control and quality management; and the potential for increased use of model-based algorithms such as Monte Carlo methods for dose calculations for brachytherapy sources, which will require new procedures for commissioning, new algorithm QA and new patient-specific planning checks. The full list of anticipated challenges is available in the supplemental material.

The manuscript makes seven recommendations for improved safety and quality in HDR brachytherapy. The white paper recommends that practitioners follow relevant guidance documents and that deviation from consensus recommendations should be supported by clinical studies or pursued in the setting of a clinical trial approved by an institutional review board; that practitioners receive training in a new procedure before beginning its practice, that the training should include a practical, hands-on component and that all team members directly involved with the radiation therapy decisions should participate in at least five proctored cases before performing similar procedures independently; and that professional societies should accelerate the generation of new or updated guidance documents for the following disease sites and techniques: skin, central nervous system, gastrointestinal, lung or endobronchial and esophagus, and, while outside the charge of this panel, assess the need for updated guidance documents for accelerated partial breast irradiation using electronic brachytherapy. The complete list of recommendations is available in the supplemental material.

The white paper describes six benchmarks to provide facilities with measures to evaluate compliance with the seven recommendations in the manuscript. The six benchmarks are: 1) HDR brachytherapy procedures are supported with the appropriate team as described in the report of the AAPM TG 59 and the American College of Radiology HDR Brachytherapy Practice Standard; 2) commissioning of the treatment unit, treatment planning system and each new source is performed by a qualified medical physicist and verified through a QA process; 3) assay of the HDR brachytherapy unit source is performed using a well-type ionization chamber with a calibration traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and this assay is performed or confirmed for each source change. Planning system source strength parameters must be updated with each source change; 4) treatments are performed according to the guidelines from the American Brachytherapy Society when available for the treatment site; 5) treatment plans and programs are checked through independent verification before treatment delivery; and 6) daily QA checks of the HDR brachytherapy system are performed before any treatment.

As the technology and use of HDR brachytherapy advances, it is imperative that clinical, physics and quality assurance guidance be reviewed and updated, as necessary, to ensure quality and patient safety in the treatment delivery, said Bruce R. Thomadsen, PhD, a professor in the Department of Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. This white paper affirms that HDR brachytherapy is a safe treatment option when current process guidance is followed and appropriate clinical decisions are made based on clinical guidance provided in white papers such as this.

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New ASTRO White Paper Provides Guidance to Achieving Optimal Quality and Safety of High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

5-Mar-2014

Contact: Brittany Ashcroft press@astro.org 703-839-7336 American Society for Radiation Oncology

Fairfax, Va., March 5, 2014 The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has issued a new white paper, "A review of safety, quality management, and practice guidelines for high-dose-rate brachytherapy," that recommends specific guidance to follow in the delivery of high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy to improve quality and patient safety, according to the manuscript published in the March-April 2014 print issue of Practical Radiation Oncology (PRO), the official clinical practice journal of ASTRO. The executive summary and supplemental material are also available as open-access articles online at http://www.practicalradonc.org.

Commissioned by ASTRO's Board of Directors as part of the Target Safely campaign, the white paper evaluates the current safety and practice guidance for HDR brachytherapy, makes recommendations for guidance applications to the delivery of HDR brachytherapy, suggests topics where additional guidance is needed and examines the adequacy of general physics, quality assurance (QA) and clinical guidance currently available for the most common treatment sites with regard to patient safety. The manuscript also addresses HDR brachytherapy procedures, the use of checklists and forms, the multidisciplinary treatment team, challenges to maintaining safe use of HDR brachytherapy and key measures for avoiding catastrophic failure.

To ensure correct actions are followed for a specific brachytherapy procedure, the white paper recommends the use of a quality management program, including checklists and forms to maintain quality and prevent errors. ASTRO's white paper references the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group (TG) 59 report that includes examples of forms for quality control and checklists for the various stages of treatment, which can be customized by the treatment team. The AAPM TG-100 report that includes the tools and process for creating an effective quality management program is also cited.

Due to the multidisciplinary nature of HDR brachytherapy treatment, the modality requires coordination among several clinicians to treat the patient accurately and safely. The white paper details the roles and qualifications of those directly involved with radiation therapy decisions: the radiation oncologist, medical physicist, medical dosimetrist, radiation therapist and surgeon. The roles and qualifications are based on ASTRO's Safety is No Accident: A Framework for Quality Radiation Oncology and Care, a comprehensive book detailing minimum recommended guidelines for radiation oncology practices, and the AAPM TG 59 report specific to HDR brachytherapy.

The white paper addresses 12 anticipated challenges to maintaining quality in HDR brachytherapy because of the constant changes in the modality. Anticipated challenges include the replacement of the traditional radiation therapy simulator with a computed tomographic simulator, which requires significant changes in how HDR brachytherapy procedures are performed; the use of new procedures and methods, which can lead to mistakes due to inadequate training, QA or inappropriate procedures; the proliferation of devices, applicators and radionuclides used for brachytherapy treatment, which leads to an increased number of possible processes, types of equipment and clinical uses, making it increasingly difficult to determine how to assure that all of the variations are used with appropriate process control and quality management; and the potential for increased use of model-based algorithms such as Monte Carlo methods for dose calculations for brachytherapy sources, which will require new procedures for commissioning, new algorithm QA and new patient-specific planning checks. The full list of anticipated challenges is available in the supplemental material.

The manuscript makes seven recommendations for improved safety and quality in HDR brachytherapy. The white paper recommends that practitioners follow relevant guidance documents and that deviation from consensus recommendations should be supported by clinical studies or pursued in the setting of a clinical trial approved by an institutional review board; that practitioners receive training in a new procedure before beginning its practice, that the training should include a practical, "hands-on" component and that all team members directly involved with the radiation therapy decisions should participate in at least five proctored cases before performing similar procedures independently; and that professional societies should accelerate the generation of new or updated guidance documents for the following disease sites and techniques: skin, central nervous system, gastrointestinal, lung or endobronchial and esophagus, and, while outside the charge of this panel, assess the need for updated guidance documents for accelerated partial breast irradiation using electronic brachytherapy. The complete list of recommendations is available in the supplemental material.

The white paper describes six benchmarks to provide facilities with measures to evaluate compliance with the seven recommendations in the manuscript. The six benchmarks are: 1) HDR brachytherapy procedures are supported with the appropriate team as described in the report of the AAPM TG 59 and the American College of Radiology HDR Brachytherapy Practice Standard; 2) commissioning of the treatment unit, treatment planning system and each new source is performed by a qualified medical physicist and verified through a QA process; 3) assay of the HDR brachytherapy unit source is performed using a well-type ionization chamber with a calibration traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and this assay is performed or confirmed for each source change. Planning system source strength parameters must be updated with each source change; 4) treatments are performed according to the guidelines from the American Brachytherapy Society when available for the treatment site; 5) treatment plans and programs are checked through independent verification before treatment delivery; and 6) daily QA checks of the HDR brachytherapy system are performed before any treatment.

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ASTRO white paper provides guidance for optimal quality, safety of HDR brachytherapy

Getting to meet a fighter pilot is pretty amazing; getting to meet an astronaut is out of this world.

Students at the 3 Canadian Forces Flight Training School (3CFFTS) got the chance to meet Canadian astronaut Maj. Jeremy Hansen on Feb. 27 and listen to him recount his journey of getting to fly into space.

Its a fantastic opportunity for students here to see what options are available in the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Armed Forces, said Lt.-Col. Peter Fedak of 3CFFTS.

Hansen, who grew up on a farm near Ailsa Craig, Ontario, began his trek towards being an astronaut as an air cadet at 12 years old and received a private pilots licence at 17. He later gained a Bachelor of Science degree in Space Science from the Royal Military College whereupon he earned a Master of Science in Physics in 2000 with a focus on wide field of view satellite tracking.

Prior to joining the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the 38-year-old served as a CF-18 fighter pilot and held the position of combat operations officer at Four Wing Operations in Cold Lake, Alberta.

Ive kept this dream of going into space since I was a young child. My tree house was a spaceship and I was always going on space missions as a kid, said Hansen. As I got older, I understood the challenges of being an astronaut and knew it wasnt likely for me, but I knew it was possible. I just kept aiming for that goal.

Hansen has been in training and working with NASA since May 2009 as one of two Canadian members waiting to fly into space before 2020. Being only one of 12 Canadians in the history of the CSA to go into space is a privilege for Hansen.

Thats something Im entitled to and its true Ive worked hard, but really what it comes down to is Im just a really fortunate Canadian to have this opportunity to fly into space, he said.

During his presentation, Hansen discussed some of the changes that are happening in the space program, including the commercialization of space travel.

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Rocket man visits Southport

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Two teams working on the search for dark matter have independently suggested the search could concentrate at a specific X-ray wavelength, following study of data collected by the XMM-Newton space observatory.

While it's not a proof of anything just yet, the two groups one from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, the other from the Netherlands' Leiden Observatory have spotted a spectrographic line in X-rays at 3.5 kiloelectron volts, and this line is observed across 73 galaxy clusters.

Readers familiar with particle physics discoveries such as the search for the Higgs boson will be aware that identifying possible energies is a big thing to particle hunters. It's an interface between the theoretician and the experimentalist: If particle W exists, its decay should emit Particles X and Y, carrying energy Z.

What's intriguing the scientists is this: that particular energy doesn't match anything we already know about what generates galactic X-rays. Science quotes one of the scientists, Maxim Markevitch of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, as putting it this way: We could not match it with anything that would come from a thermal plasma.

Markevitch was part of the Harvard-Smithsonian group, whose paper's lead author is Esra Bulbul. Their paper (Arxiv) states On the origin of this line, we argue that there should be no atomic transitions in thermal plasma at this energy which suggests that some other particle interaction is at work.

The Perseus cluster in false colour. Image: NASA

The Leiden group's paper says Although for individual objects it is hard to exclude the possibility that the feature is due to an instrumental effect or an atomic line of anomalous brightness, it is consistent with the behaviour of a line originating from the decay of dark matter particles.

Bulbul's paper suggests that the lines may come from the decay of an exotic form of neutrino, a sterile neutrino, while acknowledging the problems with this hypothesis.

Sterile neutrinos have been put forward as a possible candidate for dark matter, and would exist only if an active neutrino morphed into a sterile form. The sterile neutrino could then decay into a kEv-range photon and a normal neutrino. According to Science, if the original sterile neutrino started out at around 7 kEv, its decay could yield an X-ray with the right energy to produce the lines observed by the two groups.

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Boffins say dark matter found with X-ray

25.02.2014 - (idw) Ruprecht-Karls-Universitt Heidelberg

Did the universe begin with a hot Big Bang or did it slowly thaw from an extremely cold and almost static state? Prof. Dr. Christof Wetterich, a physicist at Heidelberg University, has developed a theoretical model that complements the nearly 100-year-old conventional model of cosmic expansion. According to Wetterichs theory, the Big Bang did not occur 13.8 billion years ago instead, the birth of the universe stretches into the infinite past. This view holds that the masses of all particles constantly increase. The scientist explains that instead of expanding, the universe is shrinking over extended periods of time. Press Release Heidelberg, 25 February 2014

How Did the Universe Begin: Hot Big Bang or Slow Thaw? Heidelberg physicist develops a new theoretical model in which the Big Bang stretches into the infinite past

Did the universe begin with a hot Big Bang or did it slowly thaw from an extremely cold and almost static state? Prof. Dr. Christof Wetterich, a physicist at Heidelberg University, has developed a theoretical model that complements the nearly 100-year-old conventional model of cosmic expansion. According to Wetterichs theory, the Big Bang did not occur 13.8 billion years ago instead, the birth of the universe stretches into the infinite past. This view holds that the masses of all particles constantly increase. The scientist explains that instead of expanding, the universe is shrinking over extended periods of time.

Cosmologists usually call the birth of the universe the Big Bang. The closer we approach the Big Bang in time, the stronger the geometry of space and time curves. Physicists call this a singularity a term describing conditions whose physical laws are not defined. In the Big Bang scenario, the spacetime curvature becomes infinitely large. Shortly after the Big Bang, the universe was extremely hot and dense. Prof. Wetterich believes, however, that a different picture is also possible. If the masses of all elementary particles grow heavier over time and gravitational force weakens, the universe could have also had a very cold, slow start. In that view, the universe always existed and its earliest state was virtually static, with the Big Bang stretching over an infinitely long time in the past. The scientist from the Institute for Theoretical Physics assumes that the earliest events that are indirectly observable today came to pass 50 trillion years ago, and not in the billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second after the Big Bang. There is no longer a singularity in this new picture of the cosmos, says Prof. Wetterich.

Wetterich stresses that this in no way renders the previous view of the Big Bang invalid, however. Physicists are accustomed to describing observed phenomena using different pictures. Light, for example, can be depicted as particles and as a wave. Similarly, his model can be seen as a picture equivalent to the Big Bang. This is very useful for many practical predictions on the consequences that arise from this new theoretical approach. However, describing the birth of the universe without a singularity does offer a number of advantages, emphasises Prof. Wetterich. And in the new model, the nagging dilemma of there must have been something before the Big Bang is no longer an issue.

Publications: C. Wetterich: Hot big bang or slow freeze? arXiv:1401.5313 [astro-ph.CO] C. Wetterich: Variable gravity Universe, Physical Review D 89, 024005 (6 January 2014), doi: 10.1103/PhysRevD.89.024005

Internet information: http://www.thphys.uni-heidelberg.de/~wetteric

Contact: Prof. Dr. Christof Wetterich Institute for Theoretical Physics Phone: +49 6221 54-9340 c.wetterich@thphys.uni-heidelberg.de

Communications and Marketing Press Office, phone: +49 6221 54-2311 presse@rektorat.uni-heidelberg.de

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How Did the Universe Begin: Hot Big Bang or Slow Thaw?

OPT is thrilled to be able to offer our customers Astro-Physics mounts and accessories. Astro-Physics is legendary in the astronomical community, and has been developing and building telescopes and accessories since 1975.

Astro-Physics mounts, such as the Mach1, 1600, and 3600GTO models, are designed for solid stability under a variety of observing conditions. At the same time, these mounts are truly portable so that they can be transported and set up quickly and accurately. AP mounts break down into manageable sizes, but when set up, they are extremely rugged and steady platforms. A very accurate worm gear set was designed to insure smooth, effortless tracking of celestial objects for all visual and photographic purposes.

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Newswise Fairfax, Va., February 10, 2014 The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) are pleased to announce the publication of the consensus guideline on margins for breast-conserving surgery with whole-breast irradiation in stages I and II invasive breast cancer. The guideline document represents an intensive collaboration among experts in the radiation oncology and surgical oncology fields, led by Meena S. Moran, MD, associate professor of the Department of Therapeutic Radiology at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., on behalf of ASTRO, and Monica Morrow, MD, SSO immediate past president, breast cancer surgeon and Chief of Breast Surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, co-chairs of the Margin Consensus Panel (MCP). In addition to determining the ideal margin width that minimizes the risk of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR), the guideline outlines an evidence-based surgical treatment path that could reduce unnecessary surgery for patients.

Society of Surgical OncologyAmerican Society for Radiation Oncology Consensus Guideline on Margins for Breast-Conserving Surgery With Whole-Breast Irradiation in Stages I and II Invasive Breast Cancer uses the results of a meta-analysis of margin width and IBTR from a thorough review of 33 research studies from MEDLINE and evidence-based medicine published from 1965 to January 2013, in the context of outcomes from contemporary trials. The included studies encompassed 28,162 patients with stage I or II invasive breast cancer who were treated with whole-breast irradiation and with a minimum median follow-up time of four years. Patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy or patients with pure ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) breast cancer were not included in the research for the guideline.

The consensus guideline was made possible by a research grant from the Susan G. Komen Foundation and underwent extensive peer review prior to approval by the SSO Executive Council and ASTROs Board of Directors in October 2013. In addition, the American Society of Breast Surgeons and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) have both endorsed the guideline. It is available open access online as a PDF document at http://www.redjournal.org, http://www.annsugoncol.org and http://jco.ascopubs.org/, and will be published in the March 1, 2014 print issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of ASTRO; the March 2014 print issue of Annals of Surgical Oncology, the official journal of SSO; and the March 10, 2014 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the official journal of ASCO.

The consensus guideline includes eight clinical practice recommendations: 1) positive margins, defined as ink on invasive cancer or DCIS, are associated with at least a two-fold increase in IBTR. This increased risk is not nullified by delivery of a boost, delivery of systemic therapy or favorable biology; 2) negative margins (no ink on tumor) optimize IBTR. Wider margin widths do not significantly lower this risk; 3) the rates of IBTR are reduced with the use of systemic therapy. In the event that a patient does not receive adjuvant systemic therapy, there is no evidence suggesting that margins wider than no ink on tumor are needed; 4) margins wider than no ink on tumor are not indicated based on biologic subtype; 5) the choice of whole-breast irradiation delivery technique, fractionation and boost dose should not be dependent on margin width; 6) wider negative margins than no ink on tumor are not indicated for invasive lobular cancer. Classic lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) at the margin is not an indication for re-excision. The significance of pleomorphic LCIS at the margin is uncertain; 7) young age (40 years) is associated with both an increased risk of IBTR after breast-conserving therapy (BCT) and an increased risk of local relapse on the chest wall after mastectomy and is more frequently associated with adverse biologic and pathologic features. There is no evidence that increased margin width nullifies the increased risk of IBTR in young patients; and 8) an extensive intraductal component (EIC) identifies patients who may have a large residual DCIS burden after lumpectomy. There is no evidence of an association between increased risk of IBTR and EIC when margins are negative.

Our hope is that this guideline will ultimately lead to significant reductions in the high re-excision rate for women with early-stage breast cancer undergoing breast-conserving surgery. Based on the consensus panels extensive review of the literature, the vast majority of re-excisions are unnecessary because disease control in the breast is excellent for women with early-stage disease when radiation and hormonal therapy and/or chemotherapy are added to a womens treatment plan, said Dr. Moran.

A significant portion of breast cancer surgeries in the United States are performed by surgical oncologists, and the definition of an adequate margin has been a major controversy. Therefore, it was only natural that we decided to create a definitive guideline that helps to minimize unnecessary surgery while maintaining the excellent outcomes seen with lumpectomy and radiation therapy, said Dr. Morrow. We are proud to provide this pivotal document to the oncology community, which will improve the lives and treatment of patients touched by this disease.

In addition to Drs. Moran and Morrow, members of the MCP and authors of the Society of Surgical OncologyAmerican Society for Radiation Oncology Consensus Guideline on Margins for Breast-Conserving Surgery With Whole-Breast Irradiation in Stages I and II Invasive Breast Cancer include Stuart J. Schnitt, MD, of the Department of Pathology at Harvard Medical School, Boston; Armando E. Guiliano, MD, of the Department of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles; Jay R. Harris, MD, FASTRO, of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, Boston; Seema A. Khan, MD, of the Department of Surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago; Janet Horton, MD, of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.; Suzanne Klimberg, MD, of the Department of Surgery at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Fayetteville, Ark.; Mariana Chavez-MacGregor, MD, of the Department of Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston; Gary Freedman, MD, of the Department of Radiation Oncology at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia; Nehmat Houssami, MD, PhD, of the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney Medical School, New South Wales, Australia; and Peggy L. Johnson, Advocate in Science, Susan G. Komen, Wichita, Kan.

We appreciate the dedicated efforts of Drs. Moran and Morrow for leading an exemplary team to produce this valuable guideline from both specialty organizations, said Colleen A.F. Lawton, MD, FASTRO, chair of ASTROs Board of Directors. Society of Surgical OncologyAmerican Society for Radiation Oncology Consensus Guideline on Margins for Breast-Conserving Surgery With Whole-Breast Irradiation in Stages I and II Invasive Breast Cancer is an essential tool for every practice to provide the necessary context and variables in order to provide high quality, patient-centered care.

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ASTRO and SSO Issue Consensus Guideline on Margins for Breast-Conserving Surgery with Whole-Breast Irradiation

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Astro-Physics mounts at Concordia Station, Dome C, Antarctica. I forgot the keypad outside for two days, which withstood -55C without problem. The blinking effect of the screen is an optical...

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Newswise Fairfax, Va., January 29, 2014 Long-term (five-year) outcomes of breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) after breast-conserving surgery show excellent tumor control and breast cosmesis (cosmetic outcomes) with minimal late toxicity, according to a study published in the February 1, 2014 print edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

APBI delivers highly conformal radiation therapy, during a period of one to two weeks, to the site where the cancer was removed. APBI has seen a 10-fold increase in use from 2002 to 2007 and is currently the focus of several ongoing phase III trials.

The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute study examines the long-term outcomes, tumor control and breast cosmesis of a cohort of early-stage and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) breast cancer patients who received a five-day treatment of APBI at the University of Pittsburgh from 2002 to 2007.

The study is a retrospective review of 157 patients with localized breast cancer treated with adjuvant MammoSite, single-lumen balloon-based brachytherapy after breast-conserving surgery from June 1, 2002 to December 31, 2007. For all patients, at least five years had passed since receiving brachytherapy. Patients were all age 40 or older, with 88.5 percent over age 50, and had stage T1-T2 breast cancer, with 82.4 percent in stage T1A-C, 12.2 percent with DCIS, 4.7 percent in stage T2 and 0.7 percent in stage T1mic. Patients were also categorized by demographics and tumor characteristics into suitable, cautionary and unsuitable groups based on recommendations from ASTROs APBI Consensus Statement.

APBI was delivered to a median dose of 34 Gy in 10 fractions over a five-day period. In addition, 89 percent of patients received additional adjuvant systemic therapy, with 66.9 percent receiving hormonal therapy, 13.4 percent chemotherapy and 8.3 percent chemotherapy with hormonal therapy. Follow-up was conducted every three to four months for the first two years post-treatment, and every six months thereafter at the discretion of the patients breast surgeon and radiation oncologist. Baseline mammograms were performed three to six months after treatment, and annually thereafter. In addition, cosmetic outcomes were documented via photography at each visit, and toxicity was assessed during the final follow-up visit.

At a median follow-up of 5.5 years post-treatment, the five-year and seven-year actuarial ipsilateral breast control were 98 percent/98 percent, the lymph nodal control were 99 percent/98 percent and the distant control were 99 percent/99 percent. The breast cancer specific survival was 100 percent at five years and 99 percent at seven years. The overall survival was 89 percent at five years and 86 percent at seven years. There were no significant differences in tumor recurrence or survival rates in the appropriateness subgroups based on ASTROs consensus statement. Good to excellent breast cosmesis was reported in 93.4 percent of patients. Overall toxicity rates were low, and the most common toxicity was telangiectasia, small, dilated blood vessels near the surface of the skin, which was reported in 27 percent of study participants. The study correlated telangiectasia development and the maximum radiation dose to the skin. The study institution practice is to keep maximum skin dose 100 percent and at maximum 125 percent to limit the risk of telangiectasia.

These results may encourage women to choose this convenient five-day treatment and also help radiation oncologists use techniques that can reduce skin dose further, thus further reducing the long-term effects of partial breast radiation therapy on skin changes and breast cosmesis, said Sushil Beriwal, MD, a co-author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Center. The promising outcomes seen across subgroups, as defined by prior consensus definitions for appropriate patient selection, suggest that the current metrics for selecting patients for APBI may need to be redefined such that more women may be candidates for less radiation over a shorter time via APBI.

The February 1 print edition of the Red Journal also contains two editorials addressing breast brachytherapy and examining the data from this study. Peter Y. Chen, MD, a radiation oncologist at William Beaumont Health System in Royal Oak, Mich., emphasizes the need to ensure guidelines keep up with changing data. Robert R. Kuske, MD, a radiation oncologist at Arizona Breast Cancer Specialists in Scottsdale, Ariz., and S. Stanley Young, PhD, the assistant director for bioinformatics at the National Institute of Statistical Sciences, explore the reported differences between breast brachytherapy and whole breast irradiation from the statistical and clinical implications.

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Extended Outcomes of Adjuvant Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation Patients Show Excellent Tumor Control, Breast ...