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Dr. Claire F Verschraegen

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In the 20th Century, oncologists, or cancer doctors, were confronted with an increase in the number of cases of mesothelioma. This type of cancer, which is now known to be caused by exposure to asbestos, did not respond to standard treatment methods. While it could attack the lining of almost any organ in the body, it settled mainly in the linings surrounding the lungs or the stomach, known respectively as pleural mesothelioma and peritoneal mesothelioma.

The surge in mesothelioma cases has led some of the best doctors to begin to specialize in this disease. One physician who chose to study mesothelioma is Dr. Claire F. Verschraegen. Dr. Verschraegen is one of the leading specialists in peritoneal mesothelioma, the form of cancer caused by asbestos that attacks the lining of the stomach. She received her medical degree from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, or the Free University of Brussels. She served as an intern and resident at the University of Texas Science Center and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, which she followed with a fellowship in internal medicine in Belgium at the Clinique L. Caty. She also studied at the Stehlin Foundation for Cancer Research for three years.

After completing her training, Dr. Verschraegen remained at the University of Texas, working as an instructor and assistant internist at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Within two years, she had become an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Investigation, Section of Gynecological Medical Oncology. In 2002, she was recruited by the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

She is a member of MARF, or the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. She is frequently requested to speak at symposiums and conferences devoted to mesothelioma, and has addressed both patients suffering from mesothelioma and the physicians who treat them. She was a Fulbright Scholar and is the recipient of the Occino-Kernkamp Prize from the Belgium Association of University Women. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the Education Committee of the International Gynecologic Oncology Society, and serves on the CTSU Advisory Panel. Dr. Verschraegen has published extensively, authoring more than 75 papers and nearly one dozen book chapters.

Dr. Verschraegen is board certified in both medical oncology and internal medicine in her native Belgium as well as America. Her clinical focus is on peritoneal mesothelioma as well as gynecological cancers. Most of her research focuses on the study of new drugs for chemotherapy and their application to the treatment of various cancers. Her current research project involves a study of the use of Alimta and gemcitabine for treating peritoneal mesothelioma.

At Albuquerque's University of New Mexico, she is the Director of Protocol Specific Research Support and Director of Clinical Research and Translational Therapeutics, a full member of the Cancer Biology and Biotechnology Research Program, and a Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology. She is on the board of the University of New Mexico Cancer Research and Treatment Center and a science advisory board member for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. This foundation is a non-profit organization that is devoted to ending mesothelioma as a life-threatening form of cancer, and which seeks funding from mesothelioma doctors and attorneys as well as the corporations responsible for the asbestos exposure. It is the first non-profit organization in the United States devoted to funding research into mesothelioma.