The University of California San Francisco 

The UC Board of Regents has approved a state-of-the-art UCSF cancer treatment center, as well as UCSF research space, a life sciences incubator, and primary and specialty care clinics as part of the Dogpatch Power Station development in southeast San Francisco.

A public-private partnership, the UCSF Life Sciences Building will be located four blocks south of UCSF’s Mission Bay Campus site and will serve as an anchor tenant in the Power Station project, bringing jobs and access to UCSF Health clinical care in a growing area of the city.

Central to the building’s benefits is a center for proton beam therapy, a highly precise treatment that is currently available only in Southern California and Seattle on the West Coast. When it opens in 2029, the proton therapy center will serve patients throughout Northern California. The building will also host a life sciences incubator for scientific startup companies that benefit from proximity to UCSF’s research campus nearby.

“This is an exciting project that will bring together renowned patient care and biomedical research, as well as graduate-level training and new biomedical companies to serve the region for years to come,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. “It will also provide good jobs in the Dogpatch area, contributing to the economic vitality of this area of the city. We are pleased that the UC Regents saw the value in this project and its importance to San Francisco.”

Expanded access to world-class clinical care

Designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron in partnership with Stantec, the 130-foot building will have eight floors above ground and two levels below, which will house the proton therapy center. Primary care and multi-specialty clinics will occupy floors two through five.

Opening in 2028, the clinical space will allow UCSF Health to serve a growing number of patients currently unable to access its services in both primary care and in the specialty-care programs for which UCSF Health is ranked among the best in the nation.

“UCSF Health is driven by an unwavering commitment to improving access to care and ensuring every person in our community can receive the care they need when they need it, whether it’s a routine check-up or life-saving cancer care,” said Suresh Gunasekaran, president and chief executive officer of UCSF Health. “This new facility will help us deliver on that promise for San Francisco’s southeastern corner, while establishing a new West Coast hub for the leading-edge, bench-to-bedside care that we are known for.”

The proton therapy center will add a powerful tool to UCSF Health’s cancer program, offering highly precise, concentrated doses of radiation that directly target cancer cells while limiting damage to surrounding tissues. The precision enables oncologists to treat some of the most challenging cancers, including cancers of the brain, eye, lung, prostate and spine. It will also serve as a center of excellence, working to advance the technology through further research.

“Our vision to bring proton therapy to cancer patients at UCSF has taken years to reach realization,” said Catherine Park, MD, chair of UCSF Radiation Oncology, who has been working on the project since 2015. “Access to state-of-the-art proton therapy will allow us to advance the possibility of cure and reduce side effects.”

The building will also include an endoscopy suite, infusion center, and a pharmacy to support the medication needs of the cancer program and clinics throughout the facility.

Fostering bioscience innovation, designed with community input

The UCSF Life Sciences Building is designed to benefit both the community and its environment. Aiming for LEED™ Gold certification, it will feature a ground-level façade of storefront glass and concrete or stucco walls, with upper floors featuring glass panels for daylight and energy efficiency. It will be fully accessible by public transit.

Its top floors will house a life sciences business incubator that will serve as an extension of UCSF’s programs in innovation and entrepreneurship. The incubator will create new opportunities for faculty and graduate and professional students, while fostering growth in California’s life sciences and biotechnology industries.

The Power Station project’s lead developer, Associate Capital, has kept the community at the center of its revitalization plans, convening hundreds of tours and community meetings, and drawing support from both the Dogpatch and Potrero Neighborhood Associations. Through five years of regulatory approvals, the plan has been unanimously approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the Planning Commission, Port Commission, and other agencies.

“For decades, the community rallied to close this power plant and improve health in the surrounding neighborhoods. We built on that momentum to create a better place here on this stretch of the waterfront, with community at the heart of everything we’ve done,” said Enrique Landa, Associate Capital managing partner. “Now we have an opportunity to partner with UCSF and bring its world-class health care and research to this very same community. We can’t think of a more dramatic revitalization for San Francisco’s southeastern neighborhoods.”

In addition to the Sept. 19 design approval, the Regents approved adoption of the building’s California Environmental Quality Act findings and an amendment to UCSF’s 2014 Long Range Development Plan.

Separately, the Regents approved a $125.89 million revitalization project on UCSF’s Parnassus Heights Campus. The Parnassus Central Campus Site Improvements (PCCSI) project is part of the overall vision of revitalizing UCSF’s historic campus, providing a pedestrian promenade, utility infrastructure, and other improvements required for the Barbara and Gerson Bakar Research and Academic Building, which will formally break ground later this month.

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UCSF Life Sciences Building will bring research, innovation, specialty care clinics, and world-class cancer therapy to San Francisco’s central waterfront.

UC Regents Approve UCSF Proton Therapy Center for Cancer Care

Gastrointestinal cancer surgeons at the UC San Francisco have performed the health system’s 15,000th robotically assisted minimally invasive surgery, making it the first University of California health center to reach this milestone. UCSF Health has the busiest robotic surgery program in the UC health system and is the leading academic medical institution for robotic surgeries in the western U.S.

The milestone surgery was a robotically assisted duodenal resection performed by Mohamed Adam, MD, a UCSF hepato-pancreato-biliary cancer surgeon who specializes in using minimally invasive robotic techniques. The patient was Elena Ceja, a 52-year-old woman with a gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Adam performed the surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System, in use for many robotic procedures at UCSF.

“With traditional open surgery, a resection of the third part of the duodenum can be very complicated and result in a prolonged hospital stay,” said Adam, assistant professor in UCSF’s Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery. “The patient has difficulty eating and ends up staying in the hospital for several weeks because they need intravenous nutrition and time to heal from their incisions.”

Duodenal resection is a type of surgery for patients with cancer in their small intestine. While this procedure can be performed either traditionally or robotically, a robotic duodenal resection can be performed through a series of small incisions that result in less pain and scarring, a shorter recovery time and a lower risk of infection.

“Her tumor was close to the superior mesenteric artery and the superior mesenteric vein that feed and drain the bowel,” said Adam. “Accessing that area is very difficult and can be a very delicate surgery. Using the robot’s camera, I had a very clear view of the tumor, the colon and the surrounding tissue. It allowed me to make a smaller incision without putting retraction on the colon and tissue.”

Use of the robot during surgery improves visualization of the surgical field through 10 times magnification in 3D and enhances dexterity for manipulation and dissection of tissue with greater precision. While robotic instruments manipulate tissue, surgeons like Adam use the robotic surgical system to guide the robotic arms and movements of the surgical instruments.

In Ceja’s case, Adam was able to completely remove her tumor, and she was able to leave the hospital after five days. Since the surgery, Elena says she is feeling good, and her recovery is going well. Adam notes she is tumor free and will continue to be evaluated, but she will require no further treatment or surgery.

Embracing innovation with a range of robotically assisted surgeries

In addition to the robotically assisted duodenal surgery, Adam also has expertise in robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy, also known as the Whipple procedure, used to treat certain cancers of the pancreas and bile ducts.

These robotic surgeries, as well as a number of other robotic procedures, put UCSF surgeons in select company. Only a few facilities on the West Coast have the number of robots and robotically trained surgeons as UCSF Health. In 2023, UCSF surgeons performed more than 2,000 robotic procedures and the health system is on pace for 2,500 robotic procedures in 2024. With nine dedicated robotic operating rooms and 59 UCSF surgeons doing robotic procedures, UCSF Health has become the leader in innovation and minimally invasive surgery in San Francisco and the Bay Area.

“We were one of the first institutions in the western U.S. to do robotic surgery, and we stay very up-to-date and are always incorporating the latest robotic technologies,” said 

, MD, a thoracic surgeon and medical director of UCSF’s 

. “We have been able to reach this milestone of 15,000 robotically assisted surgeries thanks to UCSF Health’s commitment to incorporating the latest advances in medicine to better the care of our patients.”

Robotic surgeries currently being performed at UCSF encompass a wide range of specialties and procedures, including removing cancerous tissue from the lungs, uterus, ovaries, colon, rectum, esophagus, bladder, prostate, head and neck, liver and pancreas. Other robotic surgeries are used for cardiac mitral valve repair, the treatment of uterine fibroids and endometriosis, female pelvic organ prolapse repairs, hernia repairs and bariatric surgery.

UCSF Health has also recently added a robotic donor nephrectomy program, a robotic sleeve gastrectomy program and an outpatient robotic surgery program. The health system has also added new single-port robots and robotic bronchoscopes.

“Our excellent outcomes in robotic surgery reflect the experience and excellence of our team,” said Kratz. “Robotic-assisted surgery is one of the minimally invasive surgical approaches we use to make medical care safer and recovery easier.”

UCSF Health has achieved a milestone by performing its 15,000th robotically assisted minimally invasive surgery, making it the first University of California health center to do so. The milestone surgery was a robotically assisted duodenal resection performed by Dr. Mohamed Adam using the da Vinci Surgical System. Robotic surgeries at UCSF offer benefits such as reduced pain, shorter recovery times, and lower infection risks. UCSF Health leads in robotic surgery innovation with a wide range of procedures and continues to expand its robotic surgery programs.

The milestone robotic procedure is a complex gastrointestinal surgery.

UCSF Health Reaches 15,000 Robotic Surgeries

Men with prostate cancer could significantly reduce the chances of the disease worsening by eating more fruits, vegetables, nuts and olive oil, according to new research by UC San Francisco.

A graphic icon of vegetables, including a leaf of lettuce, a carrot, and a tomato.

“Greater consumption of plant-based food after a prostate cancer diagnosis has also recently been associated with better quality of life.”

STACEY A. KENFIELD, SCD
A study of more than 2,000 men with localized prostate cancer found that eating a primarily plant-based diet was associated with a 47% lower risk that their cancer would progress compared with those who consumed the most animal products.

This amounted to eating just one or two more servings per day of healthy foods, particularly vegetables, fruits and whole grains, while eating fewer animal products, like dairy and meat. The study followed the men, whose median age was 65 years old, over time to see how dietary factors affected the progression of their cancer.

Plant-based diets include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, vegetable oils, tea and coffee. The researchers measured consumption using a plant-based index and compared the men who scored in the highest 20% to those who scored in the lowest 20%.

“These results could guide people to make better, more healthful choices across their whole diet, rather than adding or removing select foods,” said Vivian N. Liu, formerly lead clinical research coordinator at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health and first author of the study, which appears in JAMA Network Open.

“Progressing to advanced disease is one of many pivotal concerns among patients with prostate cancer, their family, caregivers and physicians,” she said. “This adds to numerous other health benefits associated with consuming a primarily plant-based diet, such as a reduction in diabetes, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality.”

Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds

Plant-based diets are becoming increasingly popular in the United States, and evidence is accumulating that they can be beneficial to patients with prostate cancer, the most common cancer among men in the country after non-melanoma skin cancer.

Fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, as well as anti-inflammatory compounds that have been shown to protect against prostate cancer, and prior research has consistently demonstrated the importance of dietary factors to overall health and well-being.

“Making small changes in one’s diet each day is beneficial,” said senior author Stacey A. Kenfield, ScD, a UCSF professor of urology and the Helen Diller Family Chair in Population Science for Urologic Cancer. “Greater consumption of plant-based food after a prostate cancer diagnosis has also recently been associated with better quality of life, including sexual function, urinary function and vitality, so it’s a win-win on both levels.”

Eating more fruits, nuts and vegetables each day – along with fewer animal products – is associated with a nearly 50% reduction in the risk of prostate cancer progression.

Prostate Cancer Study: More Health Benefits from Plant-Based Diet

Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) is a rare but aggressive childhood leukemia. While hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is curative for some patients, approximately half of all patients see their leukemia return following a transplant.

Recent studies have identified that the number of changes in the DNA (mutational burden) and the degree of DNA methylation (a chemical change to DNA) are both predictive of the severity and survivability of JMML. In an effort to improve outcomes for patients with newly diagnosed JMML, a multi-center study is underway that determines each patient’s treatment based on a blood test.

Under the auspices of the Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia & Lymphoma (TACL) consortium, a phase 1-2 clinical trial led by UC San Francisco pediatric oncologist 

, MD, will risk stratify patients based on the amount of DNA mutations and DNA methylation to receive different therapies.

“This is the first time we will stratify patients using a DNA methylation test and be able to tailor treatments to individual patients,” said Stieglitz, a UCSF associate professor of Pediatrics. “We know that patients with lower amounts of DNA methylation have better outcomes and may not require a stem cell transplant. Patients with higher amounts of DNA methylation have poorer outcomes and will require a stem cell transplant following their trial therapy.”

The primary objective of the study is to determine the safety of combining two targeted drug treatments (trametinib with azacitidine) for patients with newly diagnosed lower-risk JMML as well as determine the safety of combining the drugs with traditional chemotherapy for patients with newly diagnosed high-risk JMML. Lower-risk patients have the option of avoiding a stem cell transplant entirely if they respond to the targeted treatments. High-risk patients will proceed to a stem cell transplant after two courses of their combination therapy.

A move to give more patients access to promising medications

The researchers will collect sequential samples from all patients who consent to optional studies to better understand JMML. The trial will provide an opportunity to investigate the genetic, biochemical and functional responses to trametinib and azacitidine in patients with JMML.

“We want families and doctors to know about this clinical trial because it will give patients access to the medications that have been shown to have the most promise in this disease,” said Stieglitz.

The study will determine the event-free survival, or length of time after treatment without complications. in patients with lower-risk JMML treated with trametinib and azacitidine who do not proceed to stem cell transplant. The trial will also determine the rate of molecular response (pre-transplant) using trametinib plus azacitidine with chemotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed high-risk JMML.

“The TACL consortium is excited to conduct this important new clinical trial, T2020-004: Risk stratified treatment for patients with newly diagnosed juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia: A phase I/II non-randomized study of trametinib and azacitidine with or without chemotherapy, which could be paradigm-changing for children with JMML,” said Alan S. Wayne, MD, TACL medical director.

Funding for this research is provided by the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute.

UCSF researcher to lead multicenter precision medicine trial for juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia.

Targeted Treatment of Rare Childhood Leukemia

UC San Francisco’s Thomas G. Martin, MD, a leading expert in blood cancers, has received a grant of nearly $4.6 million from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to produce a CAR T cell therapy for multiple myeloma, the second most common malignancy among blood cancers.

The research project, “A 1XX-enhanced and fully non-viral BCMA CAR T cell therapy for Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma (UCCT-BCMA-1),” will enable Martin and his team to engineer T cells to target and kill B cell maturation antigen+ (BCMA+) myeloma cells to treat relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM).

Multiple myeloma is a cancer that forms in plasma cells, a type of white blood cell. In multiple myeloma, the body produces too many plasma or myeloma cells. These cells produce antibodies that the body does not need, which can form tumors and cause other problems, such as bone fractures and kidney failure. Currently, there are no lasting treatments for RRMM and only about 30% of patients can access current BCMA chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapies. Even with new treatments, patients usually relapse and exhaust all treatment options.

CAR T-cell therapy uses the patient's own immune cells to attack cancer cells. Martin’s late-stage preclinical study will use genome editing to produce cryopreserved autologous TRAC locus 1XX BCMA CAR T cells to improve the safety and efficacy of treatment.

“We will incorporate innovations in CAR T cell design and CRISPR-mediated transgene insertion to generate an improved BCMA CAR T cell therapy, enhancing safety, purity, potency and persistence,” said 

, a UCSF professor of Medicine and associate director of 

. “This therapy will be made available to diverse California patients who lack access to current FDA-approved therapies.”

The project was one of three clinical-stage research projects recently funded by CIRM to advance stem cell and gene therapy treatments for a variety of conditions ranging from neurodegenerative diseases to blood cancers. The award will support all stages of clinical trial development with the objective being a phase 1 clinical trial.

“While there are currently two FDA approved anti-BCMA CAR T therapies, these both require integration of lentiviruses to create CAR T cells and therefore have associated risks, constraints and access issues that are likely to be less with genome editing of CAR T cells,” said AJ Chari, MD, director of the UCSF Multiple Myeloma Program.

Martin is also clinical research director of hematologic malignancies (blood cancers) at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and co-leader of the center’s Cancer Immunology & Immunotherapy Program.

Thomas G. Martin, MD, has received a grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine to produce a CAR T cell therapy for multiple myeloma.

Cancer Researcher Thomas Martin Receives $4.6 million CIRM Grant

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has elected Eric J. Small, MD, FASCO, to serve as its president for the term beginning in June 2025. A long-time ASCO member and volunteer, Small will take office as president-elect immediately following the ASCO Annual Business Meeting in Chicago on June 3.

“I am deeply honored to serve ASCO as president to advance its mission of conquering cancer,” said Small, UC San Francisco professor of Medicine and Urology. “The next decade will be undoubtedly pivotal for our profession. While we are well into an era of significant advances in diagnostics and therapeutics, cancer care providers are facing increasing administrative burdens and resultant burnout, and access to our tremendous advances is far from equitable, neither at home nor around the world. I look forward to helping ASCO rise to meet these challenges.”

 is a hematologist-oncologist who is co-leader of the UCSF 

, and is deputy director and chief scientific officer of the UCSF 

Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

 (HDFCCC). He is also a UCSF professor in the departments of Medicine and Urology and holds the Doris and Donald Fisher Distinguished Professorship in Clinical Cancer Research as well as the Stanford W. Ascherman and Norman R. Ascherman Endowed Chair. Small previously served for ten years as chief of the division of Hematology and Oncology in the UCSF department of Medicine. 

He is an international leader in prostate cancer research and has published more than 430 peer-reviewed articles. In 2022, he was selected as a 

® award winner, which celebrates oncology pioneers for their groundbreaking achievements in research and clinical practice.

He has extensive ASCO volunteer experience, most notably as prior scientific program committee chair, as founding scientific program chair of the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, and as a member of ASCO’s Board of Directors. Small most recently served as a mentor in ASCO’s Leadership Development Program, coaching and advising mid-career members to become leaders in the oncology. He chairs five external advisory boards for other National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers.

Small’s clinical activities and research focus on advanced prostate cancer, understanding how body mechanisms may create resistance to standard therapies, and the development of new therapeutic approaches for patients with advanced prostate cancer.

Following undergraduate work at Stanford University, Small earned his medical degree at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, where he graduated with honors. While in medical school, he completed a fellowship in pathology. He completed postgraduate residency training in internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital (Boston), followed by a fellowship in hematology and oncology at UCSF.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology has elected Eric J. Small, MD, FASCO, to serve as its president for the term beginning in June 2025. 

UCSF Health’s Eric J. Small, MD, Elected ASCO President for 2025-2026 Term

While regular screenings may decrease the chance of diagnosis of advanced breast cancer in some women and lead to a 20% reduction in breast cancer mortality, other women will be diagnosed with advanced breast cancer despite screening at regular intervals. The chances of being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer are higher among women who are Black or Hispanic/Latinx as well as women who are overweight and obese.

In a study publishing December 7, 2023 in 

, UC San Francisco researchers found that regular screening is not always sufficient to prevent an advanced breast cancer diagnosis. To reduce the number of advanced cancer diagnoses, primary prevention is also necessary and should focus on assisting women who are overweight or obese attain normal weight, particularly women of color.

Advanced breast cancer is defined as American Joint Committee on Cancer prognostic pathologic stage II or higher. Advanced breast cancers are tumors that are large and/or have spread to lymph nodes or have other characteristics associated with poorer prognosis such as being high grade and estrogen receptor negative. They require surgery and systemic treatment and detecting breast cancers through screening before they become advanced may avert deaths from breast cancer.

Advanced breast cancer risk calculation for women who are screened regularly can guide screening frequency and supplemental imaging. Clinical risk factors associated with advanced breast cancer include high breast density, high body mass index, increasing age, family history in a first-degree relative with breast cancer, history of previous breast biopsies, and postmenopausal status. Black women have a two-fold higher rate for advanced breast cancer than White women among regular screeners.

To evaluate the population attributable risk proportions (PARPs) for advanced breast cancer – the proportion of advanced cancer incidence in the population attributed to a risk factor – the researchers conducted a cohort study using data collected prospectively from Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) community-based imaging facilities from January 2005 to June 2018.

The participants followed were 904,615 women aged 40 to 74 (with a median age of 57) undergoing 3,331,740 annual or biennial screening mammograms. Among them, 1815 advanced breast cancers were diagnosed within two years of screening examinations. The risk factors that were examined included heterogeneously or extremely dense breasts, first degree family history of breast cancer, overweight/obesity (body mass index greater than 25), history of benign breast biopsy, and screening interval (biennial versus annual) stratified by menopausal status and race and ethnicity (Asian or Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, White, other/multiracial).

Body mass index PARPs were larger for post-menopausal than for pre-menopausal women (30% vs 22%) and highest for post-menopausal Black women (38.6%) and Hispanic/Latinx women (31.8%) as well as for pre-menopausal Black women (30.3%). In addition, the overall prevalence of being overweight/obese was highest in pre-menopausal Black (84.4%) and postmenopausal Black (85.1%), and Hispanic/Latinx women (72.4%).

“Black and Hispanic/Latinx women are at higher risk of being diagnosed with advanced cancer than White, Asian, or Pacific Islander women, and this difference is only partially accounted for by screening,” said first author Karla Kerlikowske, MD, UCSF professor of Medicine and Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Co-PI of the BCSC. “Identifying risk factors that account for the largest proportion of advanced breast cancers among regular screeners and understanding the differences in factors associated with risk of advanced cancer by race and ethnicity is important for developing personalized, equitable screening strategies and primary preventions.”

Breast density PARPs were larger for pre-menopausal than for post-menopausal women (37% vs 24%, respectively) and premenopausal White women (39.8%) whose prevalence of dense breasts was high (62%). For both premenopausal and postmenopausal women, PARPs were small for family history of breast cancer (5% to 8%), history of breast biopsy (7% to 12%) and screening interval (2.1% to 2.3%).

Obesity is bigger risk factor than family history in the study

Among routinely screened women, the researchers found that screening frequency was a weak risk factor for advanced cancer and screening biennially vs annually accounted for only a small proportion of advanced cancer diagnoses in this study population. Being overweight or obese accounted for the largest proportion of advanced cancers in postmenopausal women (30%), while dense breasts accounted for the largest proportion of advanced cancers in pre-menopausal women (37%).

“This is the first study, to our knowledge, to calculate PARPs for advanced breast cancer,” said Kerlikowske. “We found that being overweight or obese accounts for the largest proportion of advanced breast cancers among postmenopausal Black and Hispanic/Latinx women. This contrasts with prior studies, reporting that overweight/obesity accounted for the largest proportions of invasive breast cancers for postmenopausal Black women, but not Hispanic /Latinx women.”

Family history of breast cancer accounted for a small proportion of advanced breast cancer in pre-menopausal (8%) and postmenopausal women (5%) in the study. Prior studies have shown that women perceive family history of breast cancer as the primary breast cancer risk factor, with others such as being overweight or obese or having dense breasts, as less important predictors. Kerlikowske adds that patients need to be educated on factors that contribute most to development of advanced breast cancer, and on primary prevention interventions that can modify these risk factors. Offering supplemental imaging with MRI or ultrasonography to women at high advanced cancer risk could also reduce the chance of being diagnosed with advanced cancer.

Regular screenings may decrease the chance of diagnosis of advanced breast cancer in some women and lead to a 20% reduction in breast cancer mortality. However, the chances of being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer are higher among women who are Black or Hispanic/Latinx, overweight, or obese.

Improving Prediction of Advanced Breast Cancer Among Women of Different Races and Ethnicities

University of California prostate cancer experts will share clinical insights at the first annual 

, “PSMA PET and RLT: Present and Future.” The conference will take place online and in-person in San Francisco on January 18-19, 2024. The event is co-sponsored by UC San Francisco and UCLA, with support from the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

The conference is designed to inform the physicians about the latest developments in prostate-specific membrane antigen PET imaging (PSMA PET) and radioligand therapy, including imaging interpretation and patient management. As early adopters of PSMA PET imaging and radioligand therapy, UCSF and UCLA clinicians and researchers will share their experiences and insights about future treatment directions.

Additionally, there will be cutting-edge presentations, panel discussions and exhibits from both domestic and international experts in the field, with topics including:

The selection of patients for PSMA radioligand therapy

Patient management and potential toxicities for PSMA radioligand therapy

The conference organizers are Thomas Hope, MD, vice chair of the UCSF Department of Radiology, and Jeremie Calais, MD, and Johannes Czernin, MD, both of the UCLA Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology.

Guest speakers include Michael Morris, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Oliver Sartor, MD, Tulane Cancer Center; Louise Emmett, MD, St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney; Matthias Eiber, MD, Technische Universität München, and Wolfgang Fendler, MD, University of Duisburg-Essen.

 for in-person and virtual attendance is now open.

Clinicians are also encouraged to present posters about their research work, with awards for poster presenters. The submission deadline for posters is December 1.

“We hope that this conference will be the go-to source for learning about PSMA PET and radioligand therapies, both of which are changing the landscape of prostate cancer treatment,” said Hope.

University of California prostate cancer experts will share clinical insights at the first annual PSMA Conference, “PSMA PET and RLT: Present and Future.”

UCSF and UCLA to Host Inaugural PSMA PET Conference in January 2024

 is welcoming Krishna Komanduri, MD, as division chief of Hematology-Oncology at UCSF Health. Komanduri is an international leader in the fields of hematology-oncology, transplantation, and cellular immunotherapy. He will start at UCSF on July 1.

In addition to his role as division chief, Komanduri will also assume two newly created roles: physician-in-chief of the 

Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCCC)

 as well as the clinical director of the 

. As division chief, he will also hold the Julius R. Krevans Distinguished Professorship, named after UCSF’s late dean and chancellor (and a hematologist).

Komanduri comes to UCSF from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, where he has held several key leadership roles, including director of the Adult Stem Cell Transplant Program, associate director for Clinical Innovation, and, since 2019, chief of a newly formed Division of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy. Under his leadership, cellular therapy programs have rapidly expanded at Sylvester, and the program has achieved national prominence in clinical care and research.

Komanduri’s own research, which is both lab-based and translational, focuses on improving the outcomes of patients undergoing transplantation for hematologic malignancies, as well as the use of immune-based therapies for all cancers. He has authored or co-authored six books and 125 articles in the peer-reviewed literature. He has been a principal or key investigator for more than a dozen grants and has served as a member of several NIH study sections. He is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI).

“There is no area in medicine in which the needs are greater than hematology and oncology, and no area in which the opportunities are more thrilling,” said Robert M. Wachter, Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF. “I am confident that Krishna Komanduri will be an exceptional leader for our hematology-oncology enterprise, across all of our missions. As someone who began his career with us as a fellow and junior faculty member, we are pleased to welcome him back to UCSF.”

Komanduri received his bachelor’s degree from MIT, majoring in Biology with a secondary concentration in English Literature. He completed medical school at the University of Minnesota and then medicine residency at UCLA. In 1994, he came to UCSF for hematology-oncology fellowship, including postdoctoral training in the lab of Mike McCune at the Gladstone Institute, and joined the faculty as assistant professor.

In 1999, Komanduri was recruited to the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston as a physician-scientist. While there he served as director of the BMT fellowship program and associate director of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship and received the Division of Cancer Medicine Leadership in Education Award.

Komanduri has held several major leadership positions in the field of hematologic malignancies and transplantation. He served as president of the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT), the major professional society for his field. He chaired the American Society of Hematology Scientific Committee on Immunology and Host Defense, and he serves on the Board of Directors of the National Marrow Donor Program. He was a founding member of the MIT Financing of Curative Therapies in the US (FoCUS) think tank, which is developing strategies to ensure broad access to curative cell and gene therapies. He is chair of the ASTCT’s Cellular Therapy Committee and chair-elect of its Government Relations Committee.

About UCSF’s Division of Hematology-Oncology

Each year, the division manages 82,000 ambulatory visits and sees approximately 10,000 new patients (ambulatory plus inpatient consults), with much of the ambulatory care delivered in UCSF’s Precision Cancer Medicine Building (PCMB) at Mission Bay. The division receives $40M per year in extramural funding, has more than 500 active clinical trials, and its faculty and trainees publish about 450 articles each year. The division is comprised of 222 people, including 79 faculty. It has strong clinical and research programs in all major clinical specialties of hematology and oncology, as well as in innovative areas such as immunotherapy, global oncology, medical education, palliative care and survivorship, and health disparities.

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF’s primary academic medical center, includes 

and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area. UCSF School of Medicine also has a regional campus in Fresno. Learn more at ucsf.edu or see our 

UCSF’s Division of Hematology-Oncology is welcoming Krishna Komanduri, MD, as division chief of Hematology-Oncology at UCSF Health. 

UCSF Health