UCLA’s Mesothelioma treatment program focuses on research and experience
and has pioneered the use of therapies, such as
immunotherapy and cryoablation which have led to significant advances in care. At UCLA,
basic science and clinical research have suggested some unique approaches
that are helping to make inroads in the management of mesothelioma.
“UCLA has developed a program to treat these unusual tumors —
including the very rare sarcomatoid type — that centers on lung-sparing
surgery and treating the disease as a chronic illness, focusing on treatments
that improve our patients’ quality of life,” explains Robert
B. Cameron, M.D., FACS, professor and director of UCLA’s Comprehensive
Mesothelioma Program.
About 15 percent of mesothelioma cases are of the sarcomatoid type, which
tends to be both invasive and metastatic. As a rule, surgeons will not
operate on these patients as the cancer is difficult to remove and the
patients have not typically fared well with any treatments.