Mesothelioma treatment requires specialists, oncologists, and surgeons experienced in rare cancers and complex procedures. Missouri mesothelioma treatment and doctors are largely found around St. Louis and Kansas City. You can find the right medical team for your treatment without going far.
Missouri Cancer Treatment Centers
Missouri is home to one facility recognized by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. This designation indicates excellence in both patient care and research. Other treatment centers in the state also provide excellent care for cancer patients.
Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center
This Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center is an NCI-designated facility and part of the Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. It is one of the largest treatment centers in the U.S., working with about 10,000 new patients per year.
Research and clinical trials here lead directly to advances in treatments for patients. Mesothelioma patients will find several benefits of coming to the Siteman Cancer Center:[1]
- Multidisciplinary teams of surgeons, oncologists, researchers, nurses, and support workers develop and implement comprehensive and individualized treatment plans for each patient.
- Treatment plans include various strategies, such as surgery, medical therapy, radiation, genetics, and immunotherapy.
- The extensive clinical research program brings innovative treatments and technologies directly to patients.
- A comprehensive lung cancer team that can treat patients with pleural mesothelioma.
Saint Louis University Cancer Center
This facility treats multiple types of cancer, including lung cancer. The thoracic specialist who helps lung cancer patients can also work with those diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. The Center offers radiation oncology, chemotherapy, robotic surgery, nuclear medicine, and infusion services, among many other treatments that benefit mesothelioma patients.[2]
Unlike many cancer centers, Saint Louis University offers peritoneal mesothelioma patients HIPEC. This advanced treatment is becoming more common but is still hard to find in many places. This is one of the most effective treatments for peritoneal mesothelioma.[2]
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
Most of the medical campus of this NCI cancer center is in Kansas, but the Kansas City, Missouri, hospital offers expert care for several cancers, including mesothelioma. The Lung Program can help patients with pleural mesothelioma, while the gastrointestinal department performs HIPEC and other peritoneal patients.[3]
Mesothelioma Specialists in Missouri
These facilities staff excellent cancer professionals, but mesothelioma specialists are always more difficult to find. In Missouri, patients can find excellent care from expert oncologists, surgeons, and others, including a handful of true specialists in pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma.
Bryan Meyers, M.D., M.P.H.
Dr. Meyers is the Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine. While pleural mesothelioma is not a major specialty for him, Dr. Meyers can perform the complex surgeries patients need. He leads a team that collaborates with the Siteman Cancer Center to provide multidisciplinary care for all types of thoracic patients.[4]
Chao H. Huang, M.D.
As the director of the Lung Program at the University of Kansas Cancer Center, Dr. Huang helps provide specialist care for pleural mesothelioma patients. He is a medical oncologist and leads a team of experts in thoracic cancer treatment and other specialties.[5]
Mazin F. Al-Kasspooles, M.D.
One of the few surgeons equipped to provide cytoreductive surgery, followed by HIPEC, Dr. Al-Kasspooles works with peritoneal patients at the University of Kansas in Kansas City. He is a surgical oncologist and a specialist in HIPEC.[6]
Additional Mesothelioma Specialists in Missouri
- Ramaswamy Govindan, M.D., thoracic oncologist, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, St. Louis
- Benjamin D. Kozower, M.D., thoracic surgeon, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, St. Louis
- Megan McNally, M.D., surgical oncologist, Saint Luke’s Health System, Kansas City
- Daniel Morgensztern, M.D., medical oncologist, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, St. Louis
- G. Alexander Patterson, M.D., thoracic surgeon, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, St. Louis
- Jeffrey P. Ward, M.D., thoracic oncology and researcher, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, St. Louis
Mesothelioma Clinical Trials in Missouri
A clinical trial is both vital to cancer research and an opportunity for patients to try novel treatments and possibly benefit from them when other treatments have failed. Talk to your medical team about qualifying for any trials that interest you. Three studies are a few examples of the studies currently ongoing in Missouri and recruiting mesothelioma patients:
- A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of A2B694, a Logic-gated CAR T, in Subjects With Solid Tumors That Express MSLN and Have Lost HLA-A*02 Expression (EVEREST-2). This study is investigating the use of a Car T-Cell product to find the recommended dose and determine if it is effective against mesothelioma and other cancers.[7]
- Integrated Cancer Repository for Cancer Research. This study won’t provide a treatment, but it is important for cancer patients to participate. Researchers need patient samples to help advance diagnostic techniques, cancer prevention, and personalized treatments.[8]
- A Safety and Efficacy Study Evaluating CTX131 in Adult Subjects With Relapsed or Refractory Solid Tumors. In this study, researchers are testing the safety and effectiveness of a new immunotherapy drug. Patients with unresectable or relapsed mesothelioma may qualify to join the study.[9]
A diagnosis of mesothelioma may leave you confused and unsure of where to turn. In Missouri, these specialists and treatment centers can help guide your steps and plan for treatment.
