Top Mesothelioma Doctors
Mesothelioma is a serious form of cancer and, though relatively rare, the number of cases being diagnosed is growing every year. The disease is almost always linked to past exposure to the mineral asbestos and most sufferers of mesothelioma have been exposed to that substance in the workplace, although thousands have been found to have contracted the disease through incidental contact in their homes. While mostly outlawed in the United States since the 1960s, asbestos use was rife during the first half of the 20th century and much still remains in place in older household products including flooring, ceiling tiles, insulation, roof shingles and wall boards.
Mesothelioma is a terminal disease with no known cure at this time, although significant inroads are being made in treatments to slow the progression of the illness and to extend current life expectancies. Because this form of cancer has an unusually long incubation period, often lasting many decades, early detection and diagnosis has been a challenge and yet remains one of the most critical factors for the best prognosis. Patients properly diagnosed in Stage I of the illness have the best odds of beating the cancer and have many more treatment options available to them, although much is currently being discovered to benefit Stage II and III sufferers. While there are not a great many doctors specializing in this unique field of medicine, many of the top healthcare facilities nationwide have begun instituting specialized programs dealing specifically with mesothelioma, staffed with some of the most capable and dedicated physicians currently practicing. The following is a list of six of the top mesothelioma doctors available in the United States.
Dr. David Sugarbaker
David Sugarbaker, MD, is Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital located in Boston, Mass. He also holds the post as Chief of Surgical Services at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and holds the Richard E. Wilson Surgical Oncology Chair at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Sugarbaker is world-renowned for his laboratory and clinical research into malignant pleural mesothelioma, which has become one of the main focuses of his work. He is credited with developing what is known as the tri-modal approach to mesothelioma treatment, which utilizes a combination of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. He is the founder of the International Mesothelioma Program, striving to develop new therapies designed to extend life expectancies of sufferers of this debilitating disease.
Dr. Harvey Pass
Harvey Pass, MD, is a well-known and respected thoracic surgeon practicing out of New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center in New York City. His work has been dedicated to bringing awareness to the public and the medical community regarding the dangers of asbestos exposure and its relationship to pleural mesothelioma.
His tireless research has included many studies, one of which successfully identified a specific protein, osteopontin, which is present at elevated levels in patients suffering from pleural mesothelioma. This important discovery is responsible for enabling doctors to detect the presence of the disease in its earliest stages through the use of a simple blood test.
Dr. David L. Bartlett
David L. Bartlett, MD, is Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology, University of Pittsburgh. He also directs the David C. Koch Regional Perfusion Cancer Therapy Center at the University's Cancer Institute. In addition, Dr. Bartlett is a Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh's Medical School.
Dr. Bartlett has been awarded numerous research fellowships with a primary focus on the treatment of complex and advanced carcinomas located in the abdominal region, with a specific emphasis on peritoneal mesothelioma.
Dr. Larry R. Kaiser
Larry R. Kaiser, MD, is a world-renowned thoracic oncologist who previously headed up the Department of Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia. He was also a Professor of Surgery at the University, holding the John Rhea Barton Chair. Additionally, Dr. Kaiser was the principle investigator overseeing a grant from the National Emphysema Treatment Trial while also Director of the hospital's Thoracic Oncology Research Lab.
Dr. Kaiser's main focus has been directed toward the study and treatment of malignant mesothelioma, primarily pleural mesothelioma. He was one of the developers of the technique called video thoroscopy, which is used during thoracic surgery. Since 2008 he has been President of the Health Science Center at the University of Texas in Houston.
Dr. David C. Rice
David C. Rice, MD, was born, raised and educated in Dublin, Ireland, where he received the first of several medical degrees from Trinity College School of Medicine. He completed his general surgery residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, after which he completed a residency in cardio-thoracic surgery at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine. He currently works out of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where he is the Director of the Mesothelioma Program.
Dr. Rice's primary area of focus is in surgically managing mesothelioma using less-invasive methods than have been previously employed. His research has also been credited with the creation of significantly improved methods of staging prior to undertaking surgeries on mesothelioma patients. Dr. Rice lectures extensively both nationally and internationally on the subject of mesothelioma and he has authored a variety of peer-reviewed papers on the disease.
Dr. Paul H. Sugarbaker
Paul H. Sugarbaker, MD, is a world-recognized authority in the area of peritoneal mesothelioma, having published nearly 800 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals as well as textbooks on the subject. He is the Director of the Washington Cancer Institute, located in Washington, DC, as well as Director of the Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Program there.
Dr. Sugarbaker has been involved in the study of cancer for three decades and is optimistic about of the recent advancements in the area of mesothelioma treatment, particularly peritoneal mesothelioma. He has been instrumental in many of the breakthroughs and is well known for his pioneering efforts in using a multi-modal approach. His use of cytoreductive surgery in combination with heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy has proved very successful in many instances.