In 1921 four physicians established the Cleveland Clinic as a nonprofit, multispecialty academic medical center with the purpose of providing patient care, research and education all in one setting. Today, the Cleveland Clinic is one of the top hospitals in Ohio.

Cancer research, with a major focus on lung cancer and related diseases, such as mesothelioma and chest tumors, is conducted at the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Institute. A team of internationally respected specialists, including thoracic surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, pulmonologists and radiologists utilize a multidisciplinary approach to diagnose, stage and treat lung cancer for individual patient cases.

This team includes David Mason, M.D., a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon with specialties in lung and esophageal cancer, malignant mesothelioma and lung transplantation; Nathan Pennell, M.D., Ph.D., a board-certified medical oncologist with special interests in mesothelioma; and Sudish Murthy, M.D., surgical director of the Center of Major Airway Disease and a staff thoracic surgeon who specializes in minimally invasive bronchoscopic, laparoscopic and thorascopic procedures.

Treatment Options

Patients have access to the latest treatment protocols, whether surgery, radiation, chemotherapeutic agents or combination treatments, including the following:

Surgical procedures, which may include a resection (partial lung removal), lobectomy (complete lobe removal), or a pneumonectomy (entire lung removal)
Radiation therapy, which may or may not be given with chemotherapy, including advanced high-dose techniques that spare healthy organs
Chemotherapy, which may be utilized with surgery
Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), in which injected chemicals are absorbed by cells, and a laser is then aimed to kill cancerous cells

Specific treatment options may depend on patients' ages and general health; their cancer's appearance, size and location; the rate of spreading; and how cancers respond to potential treatments.

Research Program

As lung cancer is now the leading cancer killer for men and women, the program's surgeons, physicians and investigators regularly participate in multicenter investigational trials, such as
"Phase I/II study of a triplet combination of CBP501, pemetrexed and cisplatin in patients with advanced solid tumors and in chemotherapy naive patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma."

But at the Cleveland Clinic, the research goes far beyond that of mesothelioma and lung cancer. The institution's research program studies every subtype of cancer, and with more than 1,000 residents and fellows, this program is one of the United States' largest. These diverse researchers and scientists conduct a wide array of laboratory-based, clinical and translational research in which laboratory findings are quickly and directly transferred to patients.

All research efforts are conducted through the Center for Clinical Research (CCR), a centralized resource to facilitate all research efforts. In 2010 this department's research budget, including National Institutes of Health-sponsored funding, totaled $240 million.

Resources for Mesothelioma Patients in Cleveland

Cleveland itself is home to this hospital and 10 regional hospitals, which employ an estimated 2,500 staff physicians and residents, representing 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. If you would like more information about mesothelioma specialists in Cleveland, or other areas of the U.S., use the Doctor Match Program offered by the Mesothelioma Center.

Additional Information

The Cleveland Clinic is currently the world's second-largest medical group practice. In U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Hospitals," Cleveland Clinic was ranked as one of the nation's top four hospitals, while its oncology program placed ninth among cancer programs.

And while this hospital was originally based in Cleveland, it's now grown into one of the world's largest private medical healthcare systems, offering 4,600 beds. In 2009 there were about 3,700,000 patient visits, along with almost 80,000 surgeries performed.

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