The
Pacific Meso Center, in conjunction with The Office of Continuing Medical Education of the
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, held the
4th International Symposium on Lung-SparingTherapies for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma on June 7, 2014 in Santa Monica, California. The
Worthington & Caron was proud to once again be a platinum sponsor of this unique medical seminar
focusing on rational
treatment options for patients with pleural mesothelioma.
As in years past, the course organizer and chair of the symposium was thoracic
surgeon and pleural mesothelioma specialist,
Dr. Robert Cameron. An ardent supporter of rational lung-sparing treatments for pleural mesothelioma,
and innovator of the
pleurectomy/decortication
(“PD”) surgical procedure, Dr. Cameron is the founder and
director of both the
Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program at the UCLA Medical Center and the Mesothelioma
Treatment Center of Excellence at the West Los Angeles Veterans’ Administration Medical Center.
Dr. Cameron discussed how, because of the diffuse nature of mesothelioma
tumors, there is no advantage to removing the lung via
extrapleural pneumonectomy
(“EPP”), a radical
surgery which involves removal of the pleura-based tumor along with the adjacent
lung, diaphragm and portions of the pericardium. Dr. Cameron explained
that, as compared to lung-sparing PD, “there are consequences to
extending the surgical field with EPP.” Dr. Cameron pointed to statistics
revealing a greater rate of “distant” tumor recurrence associated
with EPP. He noted that “distant” recurrences in areas such
as the peritoneum are more difficult to treat than “local”
recurrences at or near the tumor bed.
In a second presentation, Dr. Cameron addressed the latest developments
in intraoperative therapies to attack disease at a cellular level through
chemicals such as Betadine, as well as
chemotherapy, thermal therapies, light therapies and immune therapies.
Dr. Olga Olevsky
, Oncologist and member of the Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program at UCLA,
addressed the topic of when is the optimal time to administer Pemetrexed/Cisplatin
or Pemetrexed/Carboplatin chemotherapy—before, during or after surgery.
She presented the results of studies revealing that there is no statistical
advantage to any of the three protocols, but posited that there may be
advantages to adjuvant or postoperative administration of chemotherapy
because it allows more aggressive initial treatment via surgery and allows
for more accurate monitoring of response.
Dr. Percy Lee, Chief of Thoracic
Radiation Oncology and member of the Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program at UCLA
Medical Center, gave an informative presentation on postoperative tomotherapy
following PD. Dr. Lee explained how he and his team at UCLA work closely
with Dr. Cameron to maximize effective delivery of radiation and minimize
the risk of radiation toxicity utilizing the latest tomography technology.
A timely presentation regarding the challenges of treating veterans, who
are disproportionally affected by mesothelioma, in the world’s largest
healthcare system, and how the Mesothelioma Treatment Center of Excellence
at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center has overcome these challenges
was provided by Graciela Hoal, RN, NP.
Dr. Irene I-Lan Wu, Assistant Director of the UCLA Pain Management Center, gave a presentation
regarding recent developments in postoperative pain management therapies
including intrathecal drug delivery and spinal cord stimulators.
International presenters, Dr. Jan von MeerBeeck, Professor of Thoracic
Oncology and Director of Thoracic Oncology at the University of Antwerp,
Belgium, and Dr. Joachim Aerts, Chief of Thoracic Oncology at Erasmus
Cancer Institute in Rotterdam, Netherlands, gave presentations on recent
studies involving state-of-the-art targeted therapies for advanced/inoperable
mesothelioma and dendritic cell based
immunotherapy.
Updates regarding research into innovative mesothelioma therapies involving
mesenchymal stem cells and genes and molecular mechanisms being conducted at the
Pacific Meso Center were provided by Research Scientists
Raymond Wong, PhD and
Irina Ianculescu, PhD.
International presenters, Dr. Jan von MeerBeeck, Professor of Thoracic
Oncology and Director of Thoracic Oncology at the University of Antwerp,
Belgium, and Dr. Joachim Aerts, Chief of Thoracic Oncology at Erasmus
Cancer Institute in Rotterdam, Netherlands, gave presentations on recent
studies involving state-of-the-art targeted therapies for advanced/inoperable
mesothelioma and dendritic cell based immunotherapy.
Updates regarding research into innovative mesothelioma therapies involving
mesenchymal stem cells and genes and molecular mechanisms being conducted
at the Pacific Meso Center were provided by Research Scientists
Raymond Wong, PhD and
Irina Ianculescu, PhD.