The mesothelium is a little-known but important structure found in various areas of the body. Made of two layers, mesothelial tissue covers and protects almost every internal organ, including the heart, lungs, and stomach. When mesothelial cells are exposed to the carcinogenic mineral asbestos, the resulting damage can lead to malignant mesothelioma. What Is The
Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company RS Oncology used the opportunity of the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting to announce positive data from a Phase 1 clinical trial of RSO-021, its first-in-class therapeutic for malignant pleural mesothelioma.
On March 18th, 2024, advocates for victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases praised the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement of a final rule banning the use and import of chrysotile asbestos. But even in the face of that victory, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and others noted that there was still much work to
Dr. Megan McNally is a surgeon and surgical oncologist who practices at Saint Luke’s Health System in Kansas City, Missouri. Trained in da Vinci Robotic-assisted surgery and skilled in the use of cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, she treats patients diagnosed with peritoneal malignancies including malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. Dr. McNally’s surgeries make extensive use
Dr. Pavan Mukesh Jhaveri is a radiation oncologist who practices at the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, as well as at Baylor Medicine’s Lung Institute. His expertise in the use of innovative radiation oncology tools and techniques is an invaluable addition to Baylor’s multidisciplinary approach to
Dr. Syed Osman Ali is a cardiothoracic and thoracic surgeon at Advent Health in Orlando, Florida. He has extensive experience in thoracic surgery and in the use of pleurectomy and decortication, the lung-sparing surgery that is used to great effect in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Dr. Ali is skilled in the use of
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a highly aggressive cancer that is notoriously difficult to treat. Patients diagnosed with the rare asbestos-related disease generally six to 21 months after diagnosis, a survival rate that has not changed for decades. A group of researchers from the Imperial College in London investigated a novel approach to treating the disease
Dr. Joshua R. Sonett is a thoracic surgeon and oncologist at Columbia Surgery at New York-Presbyterian in New York. He is the Chief of the Thoracic Surgery Section and the Director of the Price Family Center for Comprehensive Chest Care, Lung and Esophageal Center. Dr. Sonett is credited with having made the Thoracic Surgery section
Dr. Suzanne C. Schiffman is a surgical oncologist with the Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She specializes in treating patients with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma and other complex abdominal malignancies, including cancers of the bile duct, pancreas, liver, stomach, small bowel, colon, and peritoneum. Dr. Schiffman’s surgical skills include minimally invasive techniques, as well as
Konstantinos Votanopoulos is a surgical oncologist at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, a Professor of Surgical Sciences and Cancer Biology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and a Professor at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. He specializes in the use of cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for the treatment of abdominal