Mesothelioma Experts to Meet for 3rd International Symposium on Lung-Sparing Therapies for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma May 18th

LOS ANGELES, March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mesothelioma experts will gather on Saturday, May 18^th 2013 for the 3rd Annual International Symposium on Lung-Sparing Therapies for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma at the Sheraton Delfina in Santa Monica, CA.  Dr. Robert B. Cameron, M.D., Director of the UCLA Mesothelioma Comprehensive Research Program, Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center and Scientific Advisor at Pacific Meso Center (http://pacificmesocenter.org/), will again lead this year's symposium. Dr. Cameron has been a leading proponent of lung-sparing pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) surgical procedures for malignant pleural mesothelioma for nearly 20 years.

This year's meeting will include distinguished faculty and experts from prestigious universities such as UCLA, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, National Institutes of Health and Centro di Riferimento Oncologico CRO-Aviano in Italy.  While the seminar is primarily designed for physicians and offers continuing medical education (CME) credit, it's also open to physicians in training, nurses, mesothelioma victims, their families, students, and other interested parties.

At the 1st and 2nd annual International Symposia, specialists concluded that if surgical treatment was to be performed at all, the preferred treatment is the pleurectomy decortication (P/D) over the more radical extra-pleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgery. P/D is an operation for mesothelioma that removes the involved pleura and frees the underlying lung so that it can expand and fill the pleural cavity, whereas EPP surgery involves the removal of the lung along with its coverings and the associated coverings of the heart, diaphragm and pericardium.

"Once again, this symposium highlights the best research and thinking by bringing the preeminent scientific and medical minds from around the world that are advancing the treatment of mesothelioma," said Dr. Cameron. "Research and practice over the past several years have continued to evolve working to improve cancer outcomes without unnecessarily sacrificing the affected lung. Clearly, it is best for the patient to treat mesothelioma as a chronic illness while preserving the function of both lungs," he added.

The Worthington Caron Law Firm (http://www.rogerworthington.com/) is once again sponsoring the symposium for $50,000 as a Platinum sponsor. Gold sponsors at $15,000 are Napoli Bern (http://www.napolibern.com/) and Simons Greenstone Panatier and Bartlett (http://www.sgpblaw.com/). "The generosity of our sponsors enables us to continue to provide the most up-to-date information on treatment and therapies to the medical community. The information allows mesothelioma sufferers and their family members to make sound decisions as to their best treatment options," said Clare Cameron, Executive Director of PMC. 

Early Bird tickets can be purchased before May 3^rd online at www.cme.ucla.edu/courses.

For more information, please contact UCLA at 310-794-2620 or call Clare Cameron at the Pacific Meso Center at Pacific Heart, Lung, Blood Institute at 310-478-4678.

http://www.pacificmesocenter.org  

Contact: Clare Cameron
310-478-4678

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SOURCE The Pacific Meso Center