Lung Institute at Baylor College of Medicine
6620 Main Street Suite 1325, Houston, Texas 77030
The Mesothelioma Treatment Center at the Baylor College of Medicine Lung Institute includes a staff of multidisciplinary specialists who combine cutting-edge research with clinical excellence.
About the Lung Institute at Baylor
The treatment center has been recognized as a worldwide leader for the diagnosis, treatment and personalized care for mesothelioma.
The Lung Institute opened in 2014 under the leadership of Dr. David Sugarbaker, a pioneer in the treatment of pleural mesothelioma.
His goal was to utilize the vast resources found at the Baylor College of Medicine and the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center to build a program that would serve as a legacy and set new standards for excellence.
Doctors at This Hospital
- R. Taylor Ripley, Thoracic Surgeon
- Bryan Burt, Thoracic Surgeon
Although Sugarbaker died in 2018, he already put in place the ingredients to achieve that goal.
The Lung Institute continues developing comprehensive programs across disciplines and departments, developing cutting-edge treatments for diseases of the lung.
They include pleural mesothelioma, lung cancer, emphysema, cystic fibrosis, asthma and a variety of respiratory illnesses.
The thoracic oncology program includes surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and pathologists.
The surgical team handling cases of mesothelioma includes Dr. R. Taylor Ripley, Dr. Bryan Burt and Dr. Shawn Groth.
Resources Are Unmatched
The Baylor College of Medicine is part of the Texas Medical Center, the largest, health-sciences complex in the world. It includes 49 independent institutions and unmatched resources.
The college of medicine has been a longtime leader in genomic research, which has become the future of cancer care and the key to better therapies.
It also is known for its expansive list of clinical trials, the lifeblood of therapeutic advances.
Participation is voluntary, but often encouraged.
Leader in Mesothelioma Clinical Trials
Baylor College of Medicine currently has four separate mesothelioma clinical trials designed for patients. Two of those involve surgery.
Pleural Mesothelioma Clinical Trials at Baylor
- A phase I study that combines cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraoperative chemotherapy (HIC) using pemetrexed and cisplatin.
- A phase II study combining the immunotherapy drug tremelimumab with aggressive surgery. Patients will receive tremelimumab, along with the drug MED14736, a checkpoint inhibitor. Another group will receive only the MED14736 with surgery.
- A clinical study that explores the potential for manipulating a patient’s immune system by identifying the types of immune responses to various drugs. It involves the study of immune cells in and around tumor sites.
- A data collection clinical trial that looks for trends in prognosis, success and failure when treating mesothelioma. From the data collected, specialists will get a better understanding of what combinations work best for disease staging and treatment.
The Lung Institute also offers a variety of holistic and supportive care for patients, including patient navigators, physical therapists, dietitians, social workers and chaplaincy services.
