UCLA Medical Center

Address
200 Medical Plaza
Suite B265-1
Los Angeles, CA 90095

About UCLA Medical Center

As a university health system, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center offers access to cutting-edge treatments for a wide range of health problems — including mesothelioma.

UCLA’s Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program has been treating this cancer since 1997. Patients with pleural mesothelioma (which forms in the lung lining) can access lung-sparing treatment, chemotherapy, radiation, and more through this program to live longer.

Notably, the program’s founder and director Dr. Robert Cameron has extensive experience treating both civilians and U.S. veterans with mesothelioma, as he’s also worked at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center since the late 1990s.

Ultimately, the doctors at UCLA Medical Center want to treat mesothelioma as a chronic health problem — one that can be managed with medical care to improve patient wellness.

Additionally, the medical center prides itself on treating people belonging to underserved communities and enhancing the patient experience for everyone.

We can help you access mesothelioma treatment from top hospitals like UCLA Medical Center. Learn more in our Free Veterans Packet.

Quick Facts About UCLA Medical Center

Ranked as one of the best hospitals for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report (2023)
Research at the facility has led to 21 new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved treatments for cancer since 2003
Dr. Robert Cameron has been listed as a Castle Connolly top doctor since 2009
Its health care system serves patients in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and the greater southern California area

UCLA Medical Center Mesothelioma Treatments

When treating mesothelioma, doctors at UCLA Medical Center use different methods to help patients live longer with this cancer. Learn about some of the top treatments they use below.

Pleurectomy With Decortication and Other Surgeries

UCLA Medical Center’s Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program is known mainly for using a surgery called pleurectomy with decortication (P/D) to help pleural mesothelioma patients.

This surgery allows doctors to remove cancer tumors from the lining of the lung without removing the lung itself.

Dr. Robert Cameron created the P/D surgery as an alternative to the extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), another major surgery where tumors are removed along with one of the patient’s lungs. The P/D allows patients to recover faster and with fewer complications than if they had undergone an EPP.

Besides the P/D, UCLA Medical Center uses laser, robotic, and computed-assisted surgery to treat pleural mesothelioma patients.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy involves the use of anti-cancer drugs to kill mesothelioma cells. The UCLA Medical Center team often combines chemotherapy with other treatments to destroy tumors and prevent mesothelioma from recurring (coming back).

Notably, UCLA Medical Center is able to use chemotherapy to treat sarcomatoid mesothelioma, which is the most aggressive of the three mesothelioma cell types.

Immunotherapy

Mesothelioma immunotherapy boosts the immune system to fight mesothelioma cancer cells.

Dr. Cameron has a special interest in using immunotherapy to treat mesothelioma and has studied how this therapy can assist cancer patients.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation for mesothelioma uses X-rays or other similar beams of energy to kill mesothelioma cells.

UCLA Medical Center oncology doctors use state-of-the-art equipment to deliver radiotherapy safely and effectively. It’s often used right after a mesothelioma patient receives a P/D to kill microscopic cancer cells that weren’t removed by this surgery.

Types of mesothelioma radiation therapy used by UCLA include:

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy
Novalis Tx image-guided radiosurgery
Stereotactic body radiation therapy

Wondering which mesothelioma treatments will be best for you? Get answers with our free checklist of questions to ask your mesothelioma doctor.

Cryoablation

This treatment uses freezing therapy to kill mesothelioma cells. Like with immunotherapy, UCLA Medical Center has spearheaded the use of cryoablation to treat mesothelioma patients.

“An interventional radiologist uses CT to guide a thin needle (cryoprobe) into the cancerous tissue. The probes are hollow and allow for circulation of gas. Argon gas is then pumped into the cryoprobe in order to freeze and destroy the cancer tissue.”

— UCLA Medical Center

9 in 10 mesothelioma tumors that have come back can be treated effectively using cryoablation.

Mesothelioma Specialists & Patient Care at UCLA Medical Center

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is staffed with world-class mesothelioma specialists.

The Director of the UCLA Medical Center Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program is Dr. Robert Cameron.

He serves in several other key roles, including:

Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center
Professor of surgical oncology and cardiothoracic surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
UCLA Founding Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery

As a thoracic surgeon and surgical oncologist, Dr. Cameron specializes in surgically treating mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other chest-related cancers.

Other UCLA health care providers for mesothelioma include:

Denise Aberle, MD Diagnostic Radiology
Fereidoun Abtin, MD Diagnostic Radiology
Adam Brown, MD Anesthesiology
Kathleen Brown, MD Diagnostic Radiology
Johannes Czernin, MD Nuclear Medicine
Michael Fishbein, MD Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology
Nir Hoftman, MD Anesthesiology
Jay Lee, MD Cardiothoracic Surgery
Percy Lee, MD Radiation Oncology
James Moore, MD Anesthesiology
Olevsky, Olga MD Hematology & Oncology
Parisa Partownavid, MD Anesthesiology
Siamak Rahman, MD Anesthesiology
Christiaan Schiepers, MD, PhD Nuclear Medicine
Robert Suh, MD Diagnostic Radiology
William Wallace, MD Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology
Jane Yanagawa, MD Cardiothoracic Surgery

The mesothelioma patient care team at UCLA also includes a number of registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and health sciences research scientists. All of them work together to help patients.

Contact us to find top mesothelioma doctors near you. Our team can help you quickly connect with skilled doctors and the best mesothelioma treatments.

Mesothelioma Clinical Trials at UCLA Medical Center

Like other top cancer centers, UCLA Medical Center provides a wide range of clinical trials for mesothelioma and other cancers. Clinical trials study newer and possibly more effective mesothelioma treatments.

For example, a recent UCLA clinical trial is looking to see if a newer chemotherapy called durvalumab could help pleural mesothelioma patients live longer.

Talk to a mesothelioma doctor to see if there are any clinical trials at UCLA Medical Center or another hospital that may be able to help you.

Find Top Mesothelioma Treatments at UCLA Medical Center

Receiving a mesothelioma treatment can be confusing and traumatizing for veterans and their loved ones.

Fortunately, if you are a veteran with mesothelioma or a loved one of a veteran who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the Mesothelioma Veterans Center can help you find treatment, whether at UCLA Medical Center or another health center.

We have helped thousands of veterans access treatment, compensation, and VA benefits to fight mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases.Get started right now with a Free Veterans Packet.

Disclaimer
The Mesothelioma Veterans Center has no affiliation with and is not endorsed or sponsored by Dr. Robert B. Cameron. The contact information above is listed for informational purposes only. You have the right to contact Dr. Cameron directly.