Doctors

Because mesothelioma is a rare and deadly disease, it is important to choose a doctor who specializes in treating mesothelioma patients. Following is a list of some of the top mesothelioma specialists (in no particular order):

David M. Jablons, MD – San Francisco, California
Assistant Professor of Surgery Chief, General Thoracic Surgery/UCSF Mt. Zion Medical
Center, San Francisco, CA
Phone: (415) 885-3882
Treats pleural mesothelioma with a radical pleurectomy/decortication and is researching
other therapies.

Robert Cameron, MD – Los Angeles, California
UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Phone: (310) 794-7333

Claire F. Verschraegen, MD – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Director, Clinical Trial Office and Investigational Drug Program/Cancer Research and
Treatment Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Phone: (505) 272-4551
Currently conducting a front-line Alimta/gemcitabine trial for peritoneal mesothelioma
patients.

Brian W. Loggie, MD – Omaha, Nebraska
Professor of Surgery, Creighton University Medical School; Chief, Division of Surgical
Oncology; Director of Cancer Center/Creighton University Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Phone: (402) 280-4100

Specializes in the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma and peritoneal carcinomatosis.

W. Roy Smythe, MD – Temple, Texas
Professor and Chairman/Department of Surgery, Texas A&M University System Health
Sciences Center, Scott & White Hospital, Temple, TX
Phone: 254-724-2595

David C. Rice, MD – Houston, Texas
Assistant Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Surgery; Director, Mesothelioma Program;
Director, Minimally Invasive Surgery Program, Thoracic Surgery/ The University of
Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Phone: (713) 794-1477

Gregory P. Kalemkerian, MD – Ann Arbor, Michigan
Co-Director of Thoracic Oncology/University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer
Center/ MI
Phone: (734) 936-5281
Works to develop novel clinical trials for mesothelioma patients.

David P. Mason, MD – Cleveland, Ohio
Staff Surgeon, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery/Cleveland Clinic Foundation,
Cleveland, OH
Phone: (216) 444-4053
Dr. Mason is a proponent of aggressive multimodality therapy for malignant mesothelioma. This includes extrapleural pneumonectomy, chemotherapy and radiation with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). Cleveland Clinic Foundation has a multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology team with extensive experience and clinical trials in the management of malignant mesothelioma.

Lary A. Robinson, MD – Tampa, Florida
Director, Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Principal Thoracic Surgical Oncologist/H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL
Phone: (813) 972-8412
Dr. Robinson evaluates and treats all stages of mesothelioma. He is also involved in clinical research programs for lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Craig W. Stevens, MD, PhD – Tampa, Florida
Division Chief, Radiation Oncology/H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute/
Tampa, FL
Phone: (813) 972-8424

Joseph S. Friedberg, MD – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chief of Thoracic Surgery/University of Pennsylvania at Presbyterian, Philadelphia, PA
Phone: (215) 662-9195

Daniel Sterman, MD – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine/University of Pennsylvania Medical Center,
Philadelphia, PA
Phone: (215) 614-0984

Dr. Sterman is the co-author of several informative articles on treatment and clinical trials for pleural mesothelioma.

David L. Bartlett, MD – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Professor of Surgery, Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology/UPMC Cancer Pavilion,
Pittsburgh, PA
Phone: (412) 692-2852
Dr. Bartlett has a special research interest in treating advanced carcinomas in the peritoneal cavity, including peritoneal mesothelioma.

Stephen C. Yang, MD – Baltimore, Maryland
Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery/Associate Professor of Surgery and Oncology/
Surgical Director, Lung Transplantation Program/Director, Thoracic Oncology Program/
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD
Phone: (410) 614-3891

Mark J. Krasna, MD – Towson, Maryland
Medical Director of the Cancer Institute at St. Joseph Medical Center/Towson, MD
Phone: (410) 427-2220
Dr. Krasna is a leader in the development of thoracic surgery. He is the author of the first textbook on thoracoscopic surgery and has instructed surgeons worldwide on his techniques.

Paul H. Sugarbaker, MD, FACS, FRCS – Washington, DC
Director, Surgical Oncology/Washington Cancer Institute, Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 877-3908
Dr. Sugarbaker is a specialist in the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma using a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Eric Vallieres, MD – Seattle, Washington
Associate Professor of Surgery, Section of General Thoracic Surgery/University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA
Phone: (206) 598-4477
Co-author of an article on Induction Chemotherapy, Extra Pleural Pneumonectomy And Adjuvant Fast Neutron Radiation Therapy For Pleural Mesothelioma.

David H. Harpole, Jr., MD – Durham, North Carolina
Associate Professor of Surgery, Thoracic Oncology Program/Assistant
Professor of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
Phone: (919) 668-8413

Valerie W. Rusch, FACS – New York, New York
Attending Thoracic Surgeon/Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Phone: (212) 639-5873
Dr. Rusch is known for the treatment of pleural mesothelioma. She has published several papers comparing pleural decortication to extrapleural pneumonectomy.

Raja M. Flores, MD – New York, New York
Attending Thoracic Surgeon/Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Phone: (212) 639-2806
As part of his research, Dr. Flores has compiled a 1,000 patient database searching for ways how to improve treatments for mesothelioma.

Harvey Pass, MD – New York, New York
Professor and Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery and Thoracic Oncology, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery/NYU School of Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center/
New York, NY
Phone: (212) 263-7417

Robert N. Taub, MD – New York, New York
Professor of Clinical Medicine Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons/New York Presbyterian Hospital, New
York, NY
Phone: (212) 305-4076
Studies patients with pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma.

David J. Sugarbaker, MD – Boston, Massachusetts
Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery/Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA Chief, Department of Surgical Services/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
Phone: (617) 732-6824
Dr. Sugarbaker believes in aggressive treatment of pleural mesothelioma. He is a proponent of tri-modal therapy; extrapleural pneumonectomy, chemotherapy and radiation.

Lambros Zellos, MD, MPH – Boston, Massachusetts
Attending Thoracic Surgeon; Clinical Co-Director of the International Mesothelioma Program/Brigham & Women’s Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute Harvard Medical School,
Phone: (617) 525-9657