Mesothelioma doctors are specialists in the treatment of mesothelioma, a cancer that is virtually always traceable to asbestos exposure. Many doctors are not familiar with this disease, and a patient who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma can certainly benefit from an examination and perhaps treatment from a doctor who is ranked among the top mesothelioma specialists. A good attorney or lawyer can also help you understand your legal rights pertaining to treatment and its cost.

Doctors for Mesothelioma Diagnosis, Treatment, and Research

The current medical knowledge about mesothelioma cancer is still somewhat basic. Mesothelioma doctors will be the first to admit that there is much research to be conducted and progress to be made in this field in all of these areas:

  • its cause
  • its onset
  • the molecular and DNA damage
  • its prognosis
  • accurate information about its epidemiology, and
  • the best treatment(s)

Specialist Mesothelioma Doctors

Moreover, several types of specialist physicians can be considered “mesothelioma doctors” when their specialty overlaps with this disease:

  • oncologists (cancer specialists)
  • thoracic (chest) surgeons
  • pulmonologists (lung doctors)
  • chemotherapy and/or radiation specialists

The mesothelioma doctors you consult may actually be a team of mesothelioma specialists. Indeed, treatment for mesothelioma is usually done with an interdisciplinary approach.

A List of Mesothelioma Doctors

The following physicians are mesothelioma doctors, with an emphasis in mesothelioma and other asbestos-caused diseases. They are specialists in treating patients with malignant mesothelioma, and we have included pertinent information along with their names when possible. Oncologists, thoracic surgeons, and pulmonologists are frequently involved in the combined effort of caring for those with mesothelioma cancer. The following list is in regional order, with no particular preference or endorsement given to any one professional.

East Coast / Atlantic Seaboard:

David J. Sugarbaker, MD

Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery

Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Chief, Department of Surgical Services/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Boston, MA

Phone: (617) 732-6824

Dr. Sugarbaker favors aggressive treatment of pleural mesothelioma. He is a proponent of tri-modal therapy; extrapleural pneumonectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Lambros Zellos, MD, MPH

Boston, MA

Phone: (617) 525-9657

Daniel Sterman, MD

Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine

University of Pennsylvania Medical Center

Philadelphia, PA

Phone: (215) 614-0984

Dr. Sterman has contributed to several informative articles on pleural mesothelioma treatment and clinical trials.

Joseph S. Friedberg, MD

Chief of Thoracic Surgery

University of Pennsylvania at Presbyterian,

Philadelphia, PA

Phone: (215) 662-9195

Dr. Friedberg is currently the Principal Investigator on a trial of photodynamic therapy for pleural malignancies, and a trial combining Alimta/cisplatin, surgery and XRT.

David L. Bartlett, MD

Pittsburgh, PA

Phone: (412) 692-2852

Stephen C. Yang, MD

Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery

Associate Professor of Surgery and Oncology

Surgical Director, Lung Transplantation Program

Director, Thoracic Oncology Program

Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

Baltimore, MD

Phone: (410) 614-3891

Richard Battafarano, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Surgery

Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery

University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center

22 S. Greene St.

Baltimore, Maryland 21201

Dr. Battafarano is the chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery and a member of the Thoracic Oncology Program at the University of Maryland Greenbaum Cancer Center. His areas of interest include lung cancer surgery, esophageal cancer surgery, and metastatic cancer to the lung.

Mark J. Krasna, MD

Towson, MD

Phone: (410) 427-2220

David H. Harpole, Jr., MD

Associate Professor of Surgery, Thoracic Oncology Program

Assistant Professor of Pathology

Duke University Medical Center,

Durham, NC

Phone: (919) 668-8413

Harvey Pass, MD

Professor and Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery and Thoracic Oncology, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery

NYU School of Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center

New York, NY

Phone: (212) 263-7417

Robert N. Taub, MD

Professor of Clinical Medicine

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

New York Presbyterian Hospital

New York, NY

Phone: (212) 305-4076

As an oncologist, Dr. Robert Taub directs the Connective Tissue Oncology Program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. At this center, based at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, a number of ongoing multimodality studies are underway to help patients with pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma.

Valerie W. Rusch, FACS

Attending Thoracic Surgeon

Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

New York, NY

Phone: (212) 639-5873

Dr. Rusch has extensive experience treating pleural mesothelioma. She has written numerous papers comparing pleural decortication to extrapleural pneumonectomy.

Raja M. Flores, MD

Attending Thoracic Surgeon

Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

New York, NY

Phone: (212) 639-2806

Dr. Flores is currently the Principal Investigator on a clinical study of neoadjuvant gemcitabine and cisplatin followed by extrapleural pneumonectomy and high dose radiation. He is also involved in a trial of neoadjuvant Alimta/cisplatin, extrapleural pneumonectomy and high dose radiation. He has compiled a 1,000 patient database to research areas of failure and how to improve mesothelioma treatments.

Paul H. Sugarbaker, MD, FACS, FRCS

Director, Surgical Oncology

Washington Cancer Institute

Washington, DC

Phone: (202) 877-3908

Dr. Sugarbaker specializes in treating peritoneal mesothelioma using a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

Midwest / South:

David P. Mason, MD

Staff Surgeon, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery

Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH

Phone: (216) 444-4053

Dr. Mason is an advocate of aggressive multimodality therapy for malignant mesothelioma. This includes chemotherapy, extrapleural pneumonectomy, and radiation with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). Cleveland Clinic Foundation’s multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology team has extensive experience and clinical trials in the management of malignant mesothelioma.

Gregory P. Kalemkerian, MD

Co-Director of Thoracic Oncology

University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center

Ann Arbor, MI

Phone: (734) 936-5281

Dr. Kalemkerian directs the multidisciplinary thoracic oncology clinic at the University of Michigan Cancer Center. He has collaborated with Karmanos Cancer Institute’s thoracic oncology team to develop new mesothelioma clinical trials.

Brian W. Loggie, MD

Professor of Surgery, Creighton University Medical School

Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology

Director of Cancer Center: Creighton University Medical Center

Omaha, NE

Phone: (402) 280-4100

Dr. Loggie is a specialist in treating peritoneal carcinomatosis and peritoneal mesothelioma. His protocol involves surgical debulking in combination with intraperitoneal heated chemotherapy.

W. Roy Smythe, MD

Professor and Chairman

Department of Surgery

Texas A&M University System Health Sciences Center, Scott & White Hospital

Temple, TX

Phone: (254) 724-2595

Dr. Smythe is currently seeking patients for a protocol involving Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) and extrapleural pneumonectomy.

David C. Rice, MD

Assistant Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Surgery

Director, Mesothelioma Program

Director, Minimally Invasive Surgery Program, Thoracic Surgery

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Houston, TX

Phone: (713) 794-1477

Dr. Rice is currently concluding enrollment on a Phase II trial of extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) followed by Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). He is anticipating a new trial’s opening focusing on preoperative Alimta/Cisplatin, followed by EPP and IMRT.

Lary A. Robinson, MD

Director, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Principal Thoracic Surgical Oncologist H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute

Tampa, FL

Phone: (813) 972-8412

Dr. Robinson is a member of the multidisciplinary thoracic oncology group at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida. This center evaluates and treats all stages of mesothelioma. Dr. Robinson is involved in lung cancer and mesothelioma clinical research programs.

Craig W. Stevens, MD, PhD

Division Chief, Radiation Oncology

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute

Tampa, FL

Phone: (813) 972-8424

West / West Coast:

David M. Jablons, MD

Assistant Professor of Surgery Chief, General Thoracic Surgery

UCSF Mt. Zion Medical Center

San Francisco, CA

Phone: (415) 885-3882

Dr. Jablons treats pleural mesothelioma with a radical pleurectomy/decortication. He is currently researching other therapies.

Claire F. Verschraegen, MD

Director, Clinical Trial Office and Investigational Drug Program

Cancer Research and Treatment Center

University of New Mexico

Albuquerque, NM

Phone: (505) 272-4551

Dr. Verschraegen is conducting a cutting-edge Alimta/gemcitabine trial for peritoneal mesothelioma patients. She also offers a number of Phase I trials for patients who have already been treated with Alimta.

Eric Vallieres, MD

Associate Professor of Surgery, Section of General Thoracic Surgery

University of Washington Medical Center

Seattle, WA

Phone: (206) 598-4477

Dr. Vallieres employs a multidisciplinary approach to thoracic malignancies and related clinical trials.

Robert Cameron, MD

UCLA Medical Center,

Los Angeles, CA

Phone: (310) 794-7333

Locate a Mesothelioma Doctor

More doctors are becoming familiar with mesothelioma, and there may be another specialist not on this list of mesothelioma doctors who is right for you. Contact Mesothelioma Treatment Centers today for assistance and to pursue your legal options.