UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Thoracic Oncology Program
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center serving the Central Valley of Northern California. It combines the resources of UC Davis and UC Davis Health into a transdisciplinary, translational, and transformative resource that provides clinical services and research into cancers including malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer through its state-of-the-art Thoracic Oncology Program. In addition to world-class care, the center also pursues innovative clinical trials into new and emerging therapeutic strategies.
Facts about UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center is among only 52 cancer centers in the United States to have been designated as a “comprehensive” cancer center. The hospital was also ranked among the nation’s highest-performing hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for its lung cancer surgery outcomes.[2]
The center receives more than $100 million per year in funding for research seeking better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer and treats more than 100,000 adults and children each year.
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center is currently conducting more than 200 adult and pediatric cancer clinical trials.
History
UC Davis’s 152-year history tracks the story and progress of America’s west. The original hospital was built in Sacramento during the gold rush but was destroyed by storm. Rebuilt in 1853 for indigent care and expanded over the years, the facility then known as Sacramento County Hospital grew to accommodate 160 beds and introduced one of the first X-ray machines in the state, as well as the use of spinal anesthesia for surgery. The hospital provided services for prisoners of war following World War II and introduced penicillin to the region in 1945 and polio treatment in the late 1940s.
By the late 1950s the University of California Davis was established as the 7th campus in the UC state system, and as part of the creation of the UC Davis School of Medicine signed an affiliation agreement that made Sacramento County Hospital the school’s primary clinical teaching facility. The hospital’s name was changed to the University of California-Davis Medical Center and additional buildings and grounds were added over the years, including the UC Davis Cancer Center in 1991. In 2002 the Cancer Center achieved National Cancer Institute designation, and in 2012 it earned comprehensive status from the National Cancer Institute, the 40th U.S. institution with this designation at the time.
Mesothelioma Treatment at UC Davis Thoracic Oncology Program
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Thoracic Oncology Program is the largest and most comprehensive thoracic oncology program in the central region of the state. Dedicated to improving outcomes for patients who traditionally have very low survival rates, the Thoracic Oncology Program provides both clinical and research services focused on prevention and new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The clinical care provided to mesothelioma and lung cancer patients by its multidisciplinary team has been nationally recognized for its excellence, and so too has its groundbreaking research.[1]
The clinicians and investigators at UC Davis’s Thoracic Oncology Program are studying and applying novel diagnostic tools, targeted therapies, and immunotherapy treatments that build on the progress that’s already been made in treating mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Research
In addition to being noted as a center of excellence for lung cancer treatment, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Thoracic Oncology Program is noted for the breadth of its research, which explores everything from prevention strategies to new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The research team is designing and conducting clinical trials of promising investigational therapies sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.
Notable Staff and Mesothelioma Specialists
The UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Thoracic Oncology Program is led by Jonathan Wesley Riess, M.D., an expert in thoracic oncology. Dr. Riess provides expert clinical care to patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer and is pursuing novel clinical trials incorporating targeted therapy and immunotherapy for thoracic malignancies. While Dr. Riess’ clinical interests include lung cancer, mesothelioma, and thymoma, he also is committed to advancing diagnostics and therapies to improve patients’ survival and quality of life. He is a past recipient of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award.[1]
David Tom Cooke, M.D., F.A.C.S., founded and leads UC Davis Health’s Division of General Thoracic Surgery, Directs the hospital’s General Thoracic Surgery Robotics Program, and is Task-Force Chair of the Comprehensive Lung Cancer Screening Program. He specializes in complex general thoracic surgery, including as part of multidisciplinary treatment for malignant mesothelioma.
The UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center provides world-class treatment for all types of cancer, and its Thoracic Oncology Program offers compassionate and innovative care for patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other pleural diseases.
