Mesothelioma Treatment
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Dr. David C Rice

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Over 300 Texans died from asbestos-related diseases in 2009, a number expected to rise sharply in the decade to come before leveling off in 2020. Texas has a number of first-rate medical centers and physicians to provide care for these victims of asbestos exposure. Dr. David C. Rice, an internationally recognized expert on the surgical treatment of mesothelioma, is the Director of the Mesothelioma Program at the world-famous M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Dr. Rice was born in Dublin, Ireland. He received his bachelor’s degree in Ireland before attending the Trinity College School of Medicine from 1985-1991, where he won Arthur Ball Memorial Prize in Surgery and graduated with Class II Honors. After completing his internship at St. James Hospital in Dublin, he transferred to the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to pursue a residency in general surgery, from 1992 to 1998. Dr. Rice completed a fellowship in thoracic surgery at the Mayo Clinic, and a postdoctoral fellowship in colon and rectal surgery. In 1999, he became a resident in cardiothoracic surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, a post he kept for two years.

Upon completion of his residency training, Dr. Rice joined the faculty of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where he is currently an Associate Professor in Surgery. In 2004, Dr. Rice became the Director of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center’s Mesothelioma Center.

Dr. Rice’s two main areas of clinical interest lie in minimally invasive surgery for thoracic malignancies and in the surgical treatment of mesothelioma. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF.) Working collaboratively with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center colleagues in radiation oncology, Dr. Rice has pioneered innovative uses of radiation therapy following surgical resection in mesothelioma patients. His research has led to improved methods of staging preoperative mesothelioma, and he is currently participating in an international revision of mesothelioma staging guidelines.

Dr. Rice is active in many professional organizations including the American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG), the American College of Chest Physicians, and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Rice is a Fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, and holds board certifications from the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Rice lectures widely on minimally invasive operative and staging techniques for thoracic surgery, and has authored or co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in such journals as the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the Journal of Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery, and the Journal of Thoracic Oncology. Dr. Rice has also participated in clinical trials exploring new options for mesothelioma treatment, including one which investigated the use of the preoperative chemotherapeutic agents Alimta/cisplatin for mesothelioma patients, followed by extrapleural pneumonectomy and treatment with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy.