Quick Facts
  • pin location icon
    Address:
    86 Jonathan Lucas St. Charleston, SC 29425
  • house icon next to a calendar outline
    Year Built:
    1993
  • icon of stretcher
    Number of Beds:
    700 Beds
  • icon of person with first aid kit
    Number of Physicians:
    5

Thoracic Oncology at Hollings Cancer Center

Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina is well-equipped to diagnose and clinically treat cases of malignant mesothelioma, an aggressive disease caused primarily by an exposure to asbestos.

Its thoracic oncology program has a team of renowned cancer experts, including physicians, surgeons, nurses, researchers and other health care providers, who diagnose and treat a number of malignancies.

Patients can consult with specialists in a multidisciplinary setting and undergo all diagnostic procedures in one appointment. Treatment options in the thoracic oncology program include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Medical oncologist Dr. Carol Sherman and thoracic surgeons Dr. Chadrick E. Denlinger and Dr. Barry C. Gibney have expertise in pleural mesothelioma cancer, which often starts in the lining around the lungs.

Advanced therapies in the thoracic oncology program include:

  • Radiation treatments such as PET-CT scan fusions; 3D radiation therapy; and tomotherapy, which limits high-beam exposure.
  • Minimally invasive thoracic surgical procedures, including video-assisted surgery and laser bronchoscopy.
  • Brachytherapy, involving radioactive seeds that target tumors while sparing healthy tissue.

Proud History of Care at Hollings Cancer Center

The Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina is the only National Cancer Institute Designated Cancer Center in the state.

NCI’s designation is recognition for rigorous research standards and a focus on developing a new and better approach to preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer.

There are only 71 centers in the country that have earned the distinction.

Hollings Cancer Center is a long-time, well-known contributor to cancer research and clinical treatment. Its history dates back to 1824, when it first opened as a small, private facility in Charleston, South Carolina.

Research is a driving force for the medical advances that have taken place there.

The cancer center has a 700-bed medical facility and almost 200 scientists working on research, control and prevention of cancer. There are an estimated 80,000 outpatient visits annually.

Hollings Cancer Center Research Leads to Advancements

The Medical University of South Carolina is one of the nation’s leading academic health science centers. Investigators engage in basic, clinical and population-based research as part of the center’s multidisciplinary approach. They participate in clinical trials and research protocols, some of which are specific to mesothelioma patients.

Five research projects at the Hollings Cancer Center are funded by the National Cancer Institute:

  • Lipid Signaling in Cancer
  • Cancer Genes & Molecular Regulation
  • Developmental Cancer Therapeutics
  • Cancer Immunology
  • Cancer Prevention and Control

Mesothelioma Clinical Trials at Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina

  • A phase I clinical trial studying the use of the novel immunotherapy drug atezolizumab, chemotherapy and surgery, with or without radiation, for patients with operable pleural mesothelioma. Atezolizumab will be given both before and after surgery.
  • A phase II clinical trial studying the use of the Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab) immunotherapy combination for a number of rare cancers, including mesothelioma.