Top Mesothelioma Centers in Florida

The best cancer centers for mesothelioma in Florida include research hubs, sites offering the latest advancements and NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers: Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami. NCI designation means both centers meet rigorous federal standards for cancer research, multidisciplinary care and access to cutting-edge clinical trials, giving patients access to the same level of care available at leading centers nationwide.

Patients across the state also have access to specialized care at AdventHealth and Orlando Health in Orlando, Baptist Health and Sylvester in Miami, Baptist MD Anderson and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston, Jupiter Medical Center, Tampa General and UF Health in Gainesville. Many top cancer centers in Florida house teams of specialists dedicated to mesothelioma treatment who collaborate on every patient case.

Locations of Florida’s Cancer Centers

Mesothelioma treatment in Florida is available in several major cities, including Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, where leading cancer centers offer specialized care for both pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma. Patients in North Florida can access care at Mayo Clinic and Baptist MD Anderson in Jacksonville or UF Health in Gainesville. The state’s 2 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers, Moffitt Cancer Center and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, are located in central Florida and Southeast Florida respectively.

All Centers (9)

Top Doctors in Florida

The best mesothelioma doctors in Florida are specialists who focus specifically on pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma, lead or participate in clinical research and work within multidisciplinary teams at leading cancer centers. Florida’s specialists include thoracic surgeons like Dr. Jacques Fontaine at Moffitt and Dr. Nestor Villamizar at Sylvester, medical oncologists like Dr. Mark Socinski at AdventHealth Orlando, and GI oncologists like Dr. Iman Imanirad at Moffitt and Dr. Sarbajit Mukherjee at Baptist Miami who specialize in peritoneal mesothelioma care.

Mesothelioma specialists in Florida practice at more than a dozen centers, from Mayo Clinic and Baptist MD Anderson in Jacksonville to Jupiter Medical Center and Baptist Health in Miami. Many hold leadership roles in clinical research and participate in trials that give patients access to treatments not yet widely available.

Dr. Jacques Fontaine

Jacques Fontaine

Pleural Specialist | Thoracic Surgery

Expertise:
Pleural Mesothelioma Lung Cancer Thoracic Diseases Minimally Invasive Surgery Pleurectomy and Decortication Surgery
Moffitt Cancer Center Tampa, Florida
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Expertise:
Pleural Mesothelioma Lung Cancer Thoracic Diseases Minimally Invasive Surgery Pleurectomy and Decortication Surgery
Moffitt Cancer Center
Tampa, Florida
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Dr. Jacques Fontaine is the Director of the Mesothelioma Research and Treatment Center at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. He specializes in minimally invasive thoracic surgery including robotic surgery. Fontaine became a pleural mesothelioma specialist while studying under Dr. Sugarbaker at the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

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Dr. Marcelo DaSilva

Marcelo DaSilva

Pleural Specialist | Thoracic Surgery

Expertise:
Pleural Mesothelioma Robotic Surgery Heated Chemotherapy Chest Reconstruction
AdventHealth Orlando Orlando, Florida
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Expertise:
Pleural Mesothelioma Robotic Surgery Heated Chemotherapy Chest Reconstruction
AdventHealth Orlando
Orlando, Florida
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Dr. Marcelo DaSilva is medical director of thoracic surgery at the AdventHealth Cancer Institute, where he has built the Mesothelioma International Treatment Program.

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Dr. Nestor Villamizar

Nestor Villamizar

Pleural Specialist | Cardiothoracic Surgery

Expertise:
Pleural Mesothelioma Lung Cancer Pleurectomy and Decortication Surgery Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery
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Expertise:
Pleural Mesothelioma Lung Cancer Pleurectomy and Decortication Surgery Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery
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Thoracic surgeon Dr. Nestor Villamizar has raised the level of treatment for pleural mesothelioma patients at the Sylvester Cancer Center and the University of Miami Health System. He came to Miami from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where he worked alongside mesothelioma treatment pioneer Dr. David Sugarbaker.

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Clinical Trials in Florida

Your mesothelioma doctor or a Patient Advocate can help you explore which clinical trials you may be eligible for, such as trials currently enrolling at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville or Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami. Florida’s leading centers, including Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and Sylvester, are active hubs for mesothelioma clinical trials, giving patients access to emerging treatments not yet widely available.

NCT06097728

MEDI5752 in Combination With Carboplatin Plus Pemetrexed in Unresectable Pleural Mesothelioma

This is a phase III, randomized, open-label, multicenter, global study to determine the efficacy and safety of Volrustomig (MEDI5752) + Carboplatin + Pemetrexed vs the investigator's choice of platinum + Pemetrexed or Nivolumab + Ipilimumab in participants with unresectable pleural mesothelioma.

NCT02012699

Integrated Cancer Repository for Cancer Research

The iCaRe2 is a multi-institutional resource created and maintained by the Fred \& Pamela Buffett Cancer Center to collect and manage standardized, multi-dimensional, longitudinal data and biospecimens on consented adult cancer patients, high-risk individuals, and normal controls. The distinct characteristic of the iCaRe2 is its geographical coverage, with a significant percentage of small and rural hospitals and cancer centers. The iCaRe2 advances comprehensive studies of risk factors of cancer development and progression and enables the design of novel strategies for prevention, screening, early detection and personalized treatment of cancer. Centers with expertise in cancer epidemiology, genetics, biology, early detection, and patient care can collaborate by using the iCaRe2 as a platform for cohort and population studies.

NCT05086692

A Beta-only IL-2 ImmunoTherapY Study

This is a Phase 1/2, multi-center, open-label, dose-escalation and expansion study to evaluate safety and tolerability, PK, pharmacodynamic, and early signal of anti-tumor activity of MDNA11 alone or in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor in patients with advanced solid tumors.

NCT06710756

Lead-212 PSV359 Therapy for Patients With Solid Tumors

Phase I/IIa image-guided, alpha-particle therapy study of \[203Pb\]Pb-PSV359 and \[212Pb\]Pb-PSV359 in patients with solid tumors that are known to be Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP)-positive.

NCT05579366

Rinatabart Sesutecan (Rina-S, PRO1184, GEN1184) for Advanced Solid Tumors (GCT1184-01/ PRO1184-001)

This study will test the safety, including side effects, and determine the characteristics of a drug called Rina-S in participants with solid tumors. Participants will have solid tumor cancer that has spread through the body (metastatic) or cannot be removed with surgery (unresectable).

NCT03556228

VMD-928 Monotherapy and in Combination With Pembrolizumab to Treat TrkA Overexpression Driven Solid Tumors or Lymphoma

This is a multicenter, open-label, Phase 1/2 study of orally administered VMD-928 monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab in adult subjects with advanced solid tumors or lymphoma that have progressed or are non responsive to available therapies and for which no standard or available curative therapy exists

NCT06444815

A Study of VET3-TGI in Patients With Solid Tumors

VET3-TGI is an oncolytic immunotherapy designed to treat advanced cancers. VET3-TGI has not been given to human patients yet, and the current study is designed to find a safe and effective dose of VET3-TGI when administered by direct injection into tumor(s) (called an intratumoral injection) or when given intravenously (into the vein) both alone and in combination with atezolizumab in patients with solid tumors (STEALTH-001).

NCT05732831

Safety and Tolerability of TNG462 in Patients With MTAP-deleted Solid Tumors

This is a first in human study in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors known to have an MTAP deletion. The first part of the study is an open-label, dose escalation and the second part is an open label dose expansion in specific MTAP-deleted tumor types. The study drug, TNG462, is a selective PRMT5 inhibitor administered orally. The study is planned to treat up to 225 participants.

NCT05647265

Testing the Addition of Immunotherapy Before Surgery for Patients With Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma

This phase II trial evaluates the safety and effectiveness of giving immunotherapy (nivolumab and ipilimumab) before surgery for controlling disease in patients with stage I-IIIa sarcomatoid mesothelioma. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as nivolumab and ipilimumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Giving immunotherapy before surgery may be more effective at controlling disease in patients with sarcomatoid mesothelioma than giving immunotherapy alone.

NCT07277413

A Study of IDE892 as Monotherapy and Combination in MTAP-deleted Advanced Solid Tumors

This is a multicenter clinical study to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and Pharmacokinetics (PK) of IDE892 as monotherapy and in combination with other agents including IDE397 in participants with methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP)-deleted advanced solid tumors within indications of interest.

NCT06051695

A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Mesothelin-Targeting Logic-gated CAR T, in Participants With Solid Tumors That Express MSLN and Have Lost HLA-A*02 Expression

The goal of this study is to test autologous logic-gated Tmod™ CAR T-cell products in subjects with solid tumors including colorectal cancer (CRC), pancreatic cancer (PANC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), ovarian cancer (OVCA), mesothelioma (MESO), and other solid tumors that express mesothelin (MSLN) and have lost HLA-A\*02 expression. The main questions this study aims to answer are: Phase 1: What is the recommended dose that is safe for patients Phase 2: Does the recommended dose kill solid tumor cells and protect the patient's healthy cells Participants will be required to perform study procedures and assessments, and will also receive the following study treatments: Enrollment and Apheresis in BASECAMP-1 (NCT04981119) Preconditioning Lymphodepletion (PCLD) Regimen Tmod CAR T cells at the assigned dose

NCT05568680

SynKIR-110 for Mesothelin Expressing Ovarian Cancer, Cholangiocarcinoma or Mesothelioma

This first-in-human (FIH) trial is designed to assess the safety, feasibility, and potential activity of a single intravenous (IV) dose of SynKIR-110 administered to subjects with mesothelin-expressing advanced ovarian cancer, mesothelioma, and cholangiocarcinoma.

NCT05873686

A Phase 1 Clinical Study of NXP900 in Subjects With Advanced Cancers

This is a multi-center, first-in-human, open label, dose escalation (Part A) and expansion (Part B) Phase 1 study in subjects with advanced solid tumors and in subjects with solid tumors with selected genetic alterations that are either direct (YES1 amplification) or dependent (Hippo Pathway alterations) targets of NXP900.

NCT05245500

Phase 1 Study of MRTX1719 in Solid Tumors With MTAP Deletion

This is a Phase 1, open-label, multicenter, study of the safety, tolerability, PK, PD, and anti-tumor activity of MRTX1719 patients with advanced, unresectable or metastatic solid tumor malignancy with homozygous deletion of the MTAP gene.

NCT04981119

Solid Tumor Analysis for HLA Loss of Heterozygosity (LOH) and Apheresis for CAR T- Cell Manufacturing

Objective: To collect information on how often a solid tumor cancer might lose the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) by next generation sequencing and perform apheresis to collect and store an eligible participant's own T cells for future use to make CAR T-Cell therapy for their disease treatment. Design: This is a non-interventional, observational study to evaluate participants with solid tumors with a high risk of relapse for incurable disease. No interventional therapy will be administered on this study. Some of the information regarding the participant's tumor analysis may be beneficial to management of their disease. Participants that meet all criteria may be enrolled and leukapheresed (blood cells collected). The participant's cells will be processed and stored for potential manufacture of CAR T-cell therapy upon relapse of their cancer.

Financial Support for Treatment in Florida

Mesothelioma patients can access financial assistance through organizations offering help with medical bills, travel expenses and basic needs, including Florida-specific programs like Florida Cancer Connect and the Mission Blue Foundation. These resources are designed to ease the financial burden that often comes with a mesothelioma diagnosis.

Financial Resources for Florida Mesothelioma Patients

  • Cancer Alliance of Help & Hope: This Palm Beach County nonprofit helps qualified cancer patients cover non-medical bills and basic needs like food and clothing. The organization also connects patients with support information and community resources.
  • Florida Cancer Connect: Florida Department of Health created this state resource hub in partnership with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. It helps cancer patients and caregivers find local healthcare providers, navigate insurance coverage and access cancer research and prevention programs.
  • Mission Blue Foundation: This Central Florida nonprofit provides direct support to cancer patients in need, including medical assistance, transportation to treatments and food. The foundation serves patients throughout the Orange City area and surrounding communities.

Patients can also speak with a Patient Advocate to learn about additional financial resources. Veterans diagnosed with mesothelioma may be eligible for VA benefits, including disability compensation and survivor benefits. Our Veterans Department can help people file claims and navigate what can be a complex approval process.

Cancer Resources in Florida

Mesothelioma patients in Florida can access a range of support services including counseling, cancer rehabilitation and meal assistance through organizations like Gilda’s Club South Florida and the Cancer Support Community in Orlando. These resources serve patients and caregivers at any stage of a mesothelioma diagnosis.

Cancer Support Resources in Florida

  • American Cancer Society: The organization offers programs and services to help people with cancer and their loved ones manage treatment and recovery. Resources include free wigs, hats, treatment information and help finding emotional support networks and financial assistance.
  • Cancer Support Community: A service of Orlando Health, the Cancer Support Community at UF Health Cancer Center welcomes any person with cancer, as well as survivors and caregivers. The community uses integrative medical techniques to manage symptoms, relieve stress and improve mental health. Members have access to nutritionists, counselors, pain specialists and palliative treatment consultations.
  • Gilda’s Club South Florida: Available in Fort Lauderdale and nearby communities, Gilda’s Club offers support groups, healthy living workshops, social gatherings and financial support for anyone facing a cancer diagnosis. Professionals lead a range of seminars and the organization builds a strong community presence throughout South Florida.

Florida patients can also call 211 to connect with local support services in their county. Transportation, food assistance and home care resources are all available through this free service.

What Survivors Say About Their Mesothelioma Treatment in Florida

Mesothelioma patients treated in Florida have shared their experiences with us, from surgery and chemotherapy at AdventHealth Cancer Institute in Orlando to clinical trials and multidisciplinary treatment at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. Their stories reflect the range of care Florida’s leading cancer centers offer every day.

“I believe with my heart that those who survive are warriors,” Goodson said. “I often joke with my friends that mesothelioma whispered in my ear, ‘You can’t handle me.’ And I told mesothelioma, no, you can’t handle me.”

Judy Goodson , Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survivor

“I’m enjoying life now. Doctors tell me I’m doing great and looking good,” he said. “They also tell me there’s a 75% chance of it coming back, but if I get to five years, I’ve beaten it. I’ve got things to do.”

Charles and Sharon Wood
Charles Wood , Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survivor

“It’s a hard time and a lot of tough decisions, and it’s nice to have well-informed people who have a lot of information to share with you,” she said. “It really is. It’s a good thing.”

Carla Fasolo
Carla Fasolo , Peritoneal Mesothelioma Survivor

Their stories offer hope to others experiencing mesothelioma, whether as a patient or a loved one. Read more of their inspirational stories in our Wall of Hope.