Georgia is home to a few cancer centers with reputations for excellence in patient care and innovative research. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma and live in Georgia, contact one of these facilities for the most expert care.
Georgia Cancer Centers
Georgia has more than one cancer center, but only the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University has been designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute. Facilities with this recognition excel in treatment and patient care, and host clinical trials, and conduct research to advance the understanding of cancer and its management.
Winship Cancer Institute received its NCI designation in 2017 and offers patient care at several locations in Georgia. This is just one of many reasons mesothelioma patients can trust the care here:[1]
- Winship has the largest Phase I Clinical Trials Unit in Georgia.
- The Center for Cancer Immunology at Winship contributes to the growing and exciting field of immunotherapies for treating difficult cancers like mesothelioma.
- Precision medicine is another area of specialty at Winship, which means patients get more targeted, individualized treatments.
- The Emory Proton Therapy Center offers patients the unique opportunity to benefit from this advanced treatment technology/
- Winship is also home to a Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Center.
- The Lung Cancer Care Clinic can help patients with asbestos-related lung cancer.
- The Cardio-Oncology Clinic helps prevent, minimize, or manage cardiac disease resulting from cancer treatments, a major concern for thoracic cancers like pleural mesothelioma.
Augusta University’s Georgia Cancer Center is not officially recognized by the NCI, but it is a center of excellence in the state. Cancer specialists work here in multidisciplinary teams to meet the needs of patients with all types of cancer, including mesothelioma.[2]
The Georgia Cancer Specialists practice, affiliated with Northside Hospital Cancer Institute, is another great option for cancer treatment in the state. They work in teams of experts to provide patients with well-rounded care and conduct research and clinical trials. There are multiple locations throughout the state.[3]
Physicians Treating Mesothelioma in Georgia
The cancer centers in Georgia are staffed by a range of physicians and support staff with specialties in radiology, oncology, surgery, and other types of patient care. For mesothelioma patients, a few specialists can provide expert care.
Seth D. Force, M.D.
Dr. Force is a thoracic surgeon and the Surgical Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program at Winship Cancer Institute. He leads a team of experts who can treat pleural mesothelioma surgically and as part of a multidisciplinary team. He specializes in minimally invasive thoracic surgeries and using robotics systems during procedures.[4]
Charles A. Staley, M.D.
Also at Winship, Dr. Staley is the Chief Quality Officer. He is also the Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology. A gastrointestinal surgeon, Dr. Staley can treat patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. He is one of few surgeons qualified to perform cytoreductive surgery with HIPEC, the treatment of choice for most patients with this mesothelioma type.[5]
Jennifer W. Carlisle, M.D.
Dr. Carlisle is a medical oncologist specializing in thoracic cancers at Winship. This includes both lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma. She is also active in the center’s Phase I Clinical Trials Unit, helping to develop novel therapeutics.[6]
Additional Mesothelioma Specialists in Georgia
Many more physicians in Georgia treat patients with mesothelioma:
- Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, M.D., hematologist and medical oncologist, Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta
- Ticiana Leal, M.D., thoracic medical oncologist, Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta
- Daniel Miller, M.D., thoracic surgeon and oncologist, Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta
- Chukwuemeka Obiora, M.D., surgical oncologist, City of Hope, Atlanta
- Maria C. Russell, M.D., surgical oncologist, Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta
- Dong M. Shin, M.D., medical oncologist, Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta
- Joshua Winer, M.D., surgical oncologist, Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta
Mesothelioma Clinical Trials in Georgia
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, talk to your medical team about the possibility of participating in a clinical trial. These studies give patients like you access to treatments not available to most people. Mesothelioma is rare, so there are fewer trials.
These are a few of the clinical trials with locations in Georgia that are recruiting mesothelioma patients. Your medical team can help you determine if you qualify for or could benefit from any of these:
- MEDI5752 in Combination With Carboplatin Plus Pemetrexed in Unresectable Pleural Mesothelioma (eVOLVE-Meso). This AstraZeneca trial is a phase III global study of a novel drug called Volrustomig used with standard chemotherapy and compared to chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy.[7]
- A Study of CPI-0209 in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors and Lymphomas. This is a first-in-human trial testing a new drug called CPI-0209 developed by Constellation Pharmaceuticals. It is an inhibitor of a small molecule overexpressed in many cancers, including mesothelioma.[8]
- Phase 1 Study of INBRX-109 in Subjects With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Solid Tumors Including Sarcomas. For this trial, researchers need mesothelioma patients to determine the effectiveness of an immunotherapy drug on advanced cancers.[9]
Mesothelioma treatment is highly specialized. If you live in the state and have this cancer or need an expert diagnosis, don’t rely on just any medical facility. Try one of these premier cancer centers and expert medical teams working right here in your home state.
