Treatment & Doctors News

Surgeon Paul Sugarbaker at the Washington Cancer Institute has nearly doubled the five-year survival rate for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma by adding long-term regional chemotherapy to his already groundbreaking protocol. Sugarbaker, a pioneer in advancing peritoneal mesothelioma treatment for more than two decades, believes this latest development could have far-reaching implications. “This could be a…

The controversial extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgery should remain a viable option for select patients with malignant mesothelioma, despite a growing reluctance today among thoracic surgeons to recommend the procedure. When combined with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), the EPP still can benefit some patients and improve survival times significantly, according to a recent study at…

Former thoracic surgeon Dr. Tom Treasure at University College London was never a believer in the aggressive extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgery still performed today for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. As a researcher now, he dismisses the potential benefit with even more conviction. “Doing the EPP can’t be justified anymore,” Treasure told Asbestos.com. “One more…

U.S. military veterans with malignant pleural mesothelioma can rely on the VA Boston Healthcare System’s national phone triage for improved access to specialized surgical advice and better treatment recommendations, according to a retrospective study. Thoracic surgeons Drs. Abraham Lebenthal and Jeff Siegert helped establish the open access telephone triage in 2011, shortening the average time…

Dr. Michael Shapiro has developed a program that should make breathing easier for a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma. He equates his breathing program to teaching an elite athlete how to better utilize his lung capacity by using similar concepts that assist people struggling with serious respiratory issues in hospice care. “We’re not reinventing the…

Dr. Pietro Bertino can envision a time when mesothelioma cancer no longer exists. He can see it through the work he does every day. Bertino is an assistant researcher in the Cell and Molecular Biology Department at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii. The U.S. Department of Defense awarded…

Dr. Ka-Kit Hui is no expert on mesothelioma cancer, but he helps mesothelioma patients live longer and better lives every day. Committed to teaching the benefits of integrative medicine, Hui’s vision blends the best of traditional Chinese and conventional Western medicines, skillfully bridging the gap between the two. He launched the UCLA Center for East-West…

The Mesothelioma Treatment Center at the Baylor College of Medicine Lung Institute has opened a groundbreaking clinical trial combining cytoreductive surgery with a hyperthermic, intraoperative chemotherapy lavage. Dr. David Sugarbaker, chief of thoracic surgery at Baylor and one of the world’s foremost authorities on pleural mesothelioma, believes the study could lead to a major advancement…

Researchers have reported more promising results from an international, multicenter phase II clinical trial of the drug nintedanib, moving it another step closer to standard-of-care treatment for pleural mesothelioma. Nintedanib is a small-molecule enzyme inhibitor being studied as a way to increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy on mesothelioma and certain types of lung cancer. Researchers…

Radiologists at the UCLA Medical Center are successfully killing tumor cells with extreme cold, also known as cryoablation, in patients with recurrent pleural mesothelioma. An outpatient procedure with few complications, cryoablation freezes the localized tumors with argon gas or liquid nitrogen, allowing patients to fight the almost-inevitable cancer recurrence after surgery. Dr. Fereidoun Abtin, a…