National Institutes of Health

Founded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH consists of 27 institutes, including the National Cancer Institute, which conducts most of the National Institute of Health’s mesothelioma research.

More than 80 percent of their budget is distributed to university research labs. The NIH also maintains its own laboratories, including the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, which is the largest clinical research hospital in the world.

Clinical Trials at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

The main focus of the NIH Clinical Center is the clinical trials program at the Center for Cancer Research (CCR). At any given time, the National Institutes of Health’s CRR operates more than 150 cancer-focused clinical trials. Currently, eight clinical trials are in process at the facility. Clinical trials are provided as a way for researchers to better understand the way that mesothelioma responds to treatment while patients can access emerging therapies that may provide better results than standard options.

These clinical trials provide treatment at no cost, and in many cases, the NIH can cover transportation costs after a patient has been accepted into the program. Although the trials are conducted in Maryland, cancer patients from anywhere in the world may be accepted if they qualify. Mesothelioma patients may also be eligible for financial aid to cover any medical expenses from other treatment.

Recent Mesothelioma Studies Conducted by the National Institutes of Health

In the 2010 fiscal year, the NIH granted more than $7,914,000 to 16 mesothelioma research projects. Five of these projects were conducted at the National Cancer Institute, while the others, led by top mesothelioma researchers like Harvey Pass, Raphael Bueno and Michele Carbone, were performed at NCI-designated research laboratories.

Some of the topics studied included:

• Immunotherapy for malignant mesothelioma
• Mesothelin as a mesothelioma biomarker
• Targeted radiotherapy for mesothelioma
• Mesothelioma pathogenesis
• Prognostic and diagnostic mesothelioma tests

Studies from the 2009 fiscal year, which received $11,637,205 in NIH funding, included the pathogenesis of mesothelioma, clinical trials with immunotoxins and computerized analysis of mesothelioma CT scans.

For help finding mesothelioma specialists at NIH-designated cancer centers, or other care facilities in your area, use the Doctor Match Program sponsored by the Mesothelioma Center.

NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers:

• Abramson Cancer Center University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, PA
• Arizona Cancer Center University of Arizona; Tuscon, AZ
• The Cancer Institute of New Jersey Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; New Brunswick, NJ
• Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Case Western Reserve University; Cleveland, OH
• Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center University of California at Irvine; Orange, CA
• City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center Duarte, CA
• Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center Harvard Medical School; Boston, MA
• Duke Cancer Institute Duke University Medical Center; Durham, NC
• Fox Chase Cancer Center Philadelphia, PA
• Fred Hutchinson/University of Washington Cancer Consortium Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Seattle, WA
• Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Washington, DC
• Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center The University of Iowa; Iowa City, IA
• Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University; New York, NY
• Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center University of California at Los Angeles
• The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute Wayne State University School of Medicine; Detroit, MI
• Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center Northwestern University; Chicago, IL
• MD Anderson Cancer Center University of Texas; Houston, TX
• Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota; Minneapolis, MN
• Mayo Clinic Cancer Center Mayo Clinic Rochester; Rochester, MN
• H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center at the University of South Florida; Tampa, FL
• Moores Cancer Center University of California, San Diego; La Jolla, CA
• Norris Cotton Cancer Center Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; Lebanon, NH
• Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center; Columbus, OH
• Roswell Park Cancer Institute Buffalo, NY
• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Memphis, TN
• Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University; Baltimore, MD
• Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center Washington University School of Medicine; St. Louis, MO
• University of Alabama Comprehensive Cancer Center Birmingham, AL
• UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center University of California San Francisco
• UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center Chicago, IL
• University of Colorado Cancer Center University of Colorado at Denver & Health Sciences Center; Aurora, CO
• University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center Ann Arbor, MI
• University of Pittsburgh Cancer Centers University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute; Pittsburgh, PA
• USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center University of Southern California; Los Angeles, CA
• UW Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center University of Wisconsin; Madison, WI
• Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Vanderbilt University; Nashville, TN
• Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center Wake Forest University; Winston-Salem, NC
• Yale Cancer Center Yale University School of Medicine; New Haven, CT