Top Cancer Centers for Mesothelioma in U.S.

How We Can Help You Find a Mesothelioma Cancer Center

Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that impacts approximately 2,500 people in the United States each year. The disease forms in mesothelial tissue linings of the lungs, abdominal cavity and heart. The cancer spreads quickly, often reaching vital organs, and the average survival is 1-2 years.

People affected by mesothelioma should prioritize finding a comprehensive cancer center with a team of medical professionals specializing in treatment of mesothelioma. These institutions are called mesothelioma cancer centers of excellence, and there are dozens throughout the United States. Visiting one of these mesothelioma hospitals ensures you will receive the best treatment and care.

This page includes a list of comprehensive cancer centers specializing in mesothelioma. However, you might wish for a more personalized approach. If you are deciding on a cancer center, you should ensure your choice offers mesothelioma specialty care along with other resources for patients and their loved ones.

Mesothelioma Guide’s patient advocates provide information on the best cancer facilities in the country and the factors to consider. For insight into every cancer center, contact lead patient advocate and registered nurse Karen Ritter or email her at karen@mesotheliomaguide.com. She can help find the best mesothelioma cancer hospital for your diagnosis.

Best Mesothelioma Cancer Centers

Rankings of the Best Cancer Centers for Mesothelioma

The U.S. News & World Report publication has an annual ranking of the top hospitals. This ranking includes top mesothelioma cancer centers, but not all the centers on this list are known for mesothelioma care.

How to Find a Mesothelioma Cancer Center

There is a suggested process to take to find a place for mesothelioma treatment. Follow these four steps when wondering how to find a mesothelioma cancer center:

What to Look for in a Cancer Center

Each cancer center offers a different experience for patients. These experiences are based on qualities of the hospital, such as the staff available to patients and the technologies for treatment. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer, so it's imperative to find help from a team of mesothelioma specialists to ensure you get quality care. After you receive a mesothelioma diagnosis, find a hospital with all or at least most of these qualities.

Why to Choose a Cancer Center Over a Local Hospital or Oncologist

You shouldn’t take chances with treatment for mesothelioma, which is why you should look for only the best doctors and cancer centers.

The analysis explicitly compared elite hospitals to affiliate hospitals that share the brand but don’t have the same resources. The discrepancies clearly show that — to give yourself the most hope for living a long and healthy life — you should settle for nothing less than the most prestigious hospitals.

The Relationship Between Elite Hospitals and Affiliates

Most top cancer centers lead a network of institutions. They allow the use of their brand name to raise the prestige of the affiliate locations.

For instance, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston is one of the best cancer centers in the United States. It also has an innovative mesothelioma treatment program, making it an attractive option for people with this cancer. In addition to the primary location, seven other affiliates around Massachusetts use the “Brigham and Women’s” branding.

MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston is another example. The institution has five affiliates that use the “MD Anderson Cancer Center” brand name. These affiliates are in Arizona, California, Florida and New Jersey.

According to the JAMA Network report, half of survey respondents believed that affiliate hospitals would have the same survival and safety benefits as those of the most renowned institutions.

The report defined “brand-sharing affiliates” as hospitals that were within the network and included the brand name. The analysis of survival data and safety included 56 top-ranked hospitals and 206 affiliates.

High-Volume Facilities Provide Better Outcomes

The National Cancer Database evaluated newly diagnosed non-metastatic pleural mesothelioma patients. During the study, the database analyzed the overall survival of patients by cancer facility volume.

The top cancer centers are considered high-volume medical facilities for seeing and treating cases of mesothelioma, while low-volume ones are local hospitals or oncologists since the cancer is rare and these facilities won’t see many cases.

The investigation also took into perspective the well-being of patients after surgery. Evaluated pleural mesothelioma patients had undergone one of the two main surgeries for this type of mesothelioma: extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) or pleurectomy/decortication (P/D).

1,307 patients were treated. 621 patients were treated in lower-volume facilities, and 686 patients were treated in high-volume facilities (HVFs), such as top cancer centers.

Better Hospital for Cancer Treatment Equals Better Survival

The study involved nearly 120,000 cancer cases, all of which required surgery. The six types of cancer analyzed were: esophageal, gastric, lung, pancreatic, colorectal and bladder. Lung cancer treatment is similar to pleural mesothelioma treatment because the two cancers form in the same general area. Surgery for pleural mesothelioma may involve removing the affected lung.

Around two-thirds (nearly 80,000) of the patients underwent treatment at one of the U.S. News and World Report’s top 50 cancer hospitals between 2013 and 2016. Around one-third (nearly 40,000) of the cases involved an affiliate of these medical institutions. Affiliates may have fewer resources and smaller staff to treat patients.

At the affiliate hospitals, the post-surgery mortality within 90 days was higher for every type of cancer surgery. The long-term survival for patients at affiliate hospitals was 77% of top-ranked hospitals. In fact, the elite hospitals had better survival rates for all six cancer types analyzed.