Dr. David Jablons
Chief of General Thoracic Surgery at University of California San Francisco Health
Dr. David Jablons is one of the leading mesothelioma doctors along the West Coast. He is a staff member of University of California San Francisco Health.
Pleural Mesothelioma
University of California San Francisco
505 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143
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More About Mesothelioma Specialist Dr. David Jablons
Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that usually begins in the lining of the lungs or abdominal cavity. It is caused by exposure to asbestos. Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type of mesothelioma. It forms in the lining of the lungs and is Dr. Jablons’ specialty.
Dr. Jablons sees pleural mesothelioma patients at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center. He became Chief of General Thoracic Surgery in 1997 and has championed UCSF Health’s thoracic oncology program for more than 20 years.
Dr. Jablons served as a Navy commander while a resident at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital. This experience allows him to connect with veterans with mesothelioma. Veterans account for 33% of mesothelioma cases due to asbestos exposure during military service.
His other professional titles with UCSF Health are:
- Professor of Thoracic Surgical Oncology
- Professor of Thoracic Oncology
- Program Leader in Thoracic Oncology
- Director of the Thoracic Oncology Laboratory
During his fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, he trained under Dr. David Sugarbaker. Dr. Sugarbaker, who passed away in 2018, is one of the original specialists for mesothelioma.
- Medical Degree from Albany Medical College of Union University, 1984
- Residency in General Surgery at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, California, 1985
- Residency in General Surgery at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, 1986
- Residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell University Medical Center in New York City, 1993
- Fellowship in Surgical Oncology at National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, 1989
- Fellowship in Lung Transplantation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, 1992
- Fellowship in Thoracic Surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, 1993
- Certified by the American Board of Surgery and American Board of Thoracic Surgery
- Membership in the American Association for Cancer Research, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, Society of Thoracic Surgeons and American Association for the Advancement of Science
Get Connected to Dr. David Jablons
As a head of thoracic oncology, Dr. David Jablons sees patients from throughout the West Coast. His clinical focus is lung cancers and pleural mesothelioma. He also served as a commander in the Navy, allowing him to relate to veterans with this rare cancer.
Why Choose Dr. Jablons?
- Military experience during one of first residency programs
- Head of thoracic oncology at highly respected hospital
- Interested in gene mutations related to mesothelioma
Hesitation to Perform Surgery for Mesothelioma
The primary treatment options for mesothelioma are surgery, immunotherapy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Most doctors first consider surgery based on the patient’s overall health, the stage of their cancer, and other factors.
While Dr. Jablons is an experienced surgeon for pleural mesothelioma, he’s quite unlike other specialists. He has trepidation toward relying on surgery for this cancer due to no proven survival benefit and biased study results.
In a medical paper published in 2020, Dr. Jablons co-authored thoughts about surgery for pleural mesothelioma:
“There is a lack of randomized evidence to support a survival benefit when major surgical resection is included in multi-modality treatment regimens. Current data from retrospective single institution reviews and prospective trials such as the Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy (SMART) trial are limited by biased patient selection to include only the healthiest patients with the most limited disease burden.”
There are two surgeries used for pleural mesothelioma: extrapleural pneumonectomy and pleurectomy with decortication.
Dr. Jablons believes extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgery has little survival benefit for most people with mesothelioma. H wrote EPP had “shorter survival times” compared to those treated medically with chemotherapy, radiation and/or immunotherapy.
EPP involves removing the affected lung. Pleurectomy with decortication (P/D) is growing as a preferred surgery because it leaves both lungs intact for the patient.
Interest in New Therapeutic Options
In 2019, Dr. Jablons co-authored an article with fellow mesothelioma specialist Dr. Anne Tsao. The article looked at all available or tested therapies for malignant mesothelioma.
Dr. Jablons has hope for mesothelioma immunotherapy and mesothelioma gene therapy. In a video published on the UCSF Health website, he said the thoracic oncology team can identify cancerous genes and target them with cell therapies. This method, called CAR T-cell therapy, works for blood cancers and is in testing for solid tumors like mesothelioma.
How to See Dr. Jablons
If you live in California or another state on or near the West Coast, you might not have to travel far to see Dr. Jablons at UCSF Health. We can guide you through the process of scheduling an initial consultation and learning your options for therapy. Contact our team through our free Doctor Match page, where you’ll send us your name and diagnosis information.
You can also email us directly if you wish. Karen Ritter, our registered nurse, can help with any questions or concerns. Her email is karen@mesotheliomaguide.com.
Sources & Author
- David M. Jablons. UCSF Department of Surgery. Retrieved from: https://surgery.ucsf.edu/bio/david-m-jablons. Accessed: 11/23/2021.
- David Jablons, MD. University of California San Francisco. Retrieved from: https://cancer.ucsf.edu/people/jablons.david. Accessed: 11/23/2021.
- Ponatinib is a potential therapeutic approach for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Experimental Lung Research. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33107354/. Accessed: 11/23/2021.
- Surgery for pleural mesothelioma, when it is indicated and why: arguments against surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma. Translational Lung Cancer Research. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32206574/. Accessed: 11/23/2021.
- Scientific Advances and New Frontiers in Mesothelioma Therapeutics. Journal of Thoracic Oncology. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6643278/. Accessed: 11/23/2021.
