Researchers at UCLA and various treatment centers around the country are teaming up with surgical oncologist Dr. Robert Cameron and the Pacific, Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (PHLBI) to create tests (including a breath test) that predict individuals at risk of developing mesothelioma cancer.
Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with the cancer each year. Similar to other asbestos-related diseases, mesothelioma has a long latency period. In most cases, patients with mesothelioma will not experience symptoms until 20 to 50 years have passed since their initial exposure to asbestos.
Unfortunately, the rare cancer does not respond well to current mesothelioma treatment methods and researchers across the globe have conducted numerous studies to better understand the cancer and develop more effective testing methods and treatments.
The researchers have already reported some success with breath tests in lung cancer patients. The researchers now plan to extend the breath test to persons exposed to asbestos who are at risk for developing mesothelioma. With the successful identification of asbestos-exposed persons at risk of mesothelioma, the team of researchers can then begin testing the efficacy of a COX-2 inhibitor (such as the medication Celebrex) that may prevent mesothelioma from developing.
Dr. Robert Cameron is a world renowned mesothelioma surgeon and serves as the scientific advisor of PHLBI, in addition to his roles as the director of the mesothelioma program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the chief of thoracic surgery at the West Los Angeles Veterans’ Administration Medical Center.
PHLBI’s medical research is also under the direction of Dr. Cameron, who innovated the lung-sparing pleurectomy/decortication (PD) surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma and has performed the procedure on more than 300 patients. Research programs at PHLBI currently focus on immunotherapy, screening, early detection and prevention of mesothelioma.
Additional information on mesothelioma may be found through the mesothelioma Center.