Expertise:
Palliative Care
Multimodal Therapy
Speciality:
Hematology/Oncology
Gender:
Male
Language:
English, Spanish, French

Dr. Jahan’s Clinical Approach

Dr. Thierry Jahan often recommended that patients obtain several forms of treatment, known as a multimodal approach. This blends several treatments to give patients the best possible chance for recovery.

Another important focus for Dr. Jahan was palliative care. When patients are ineligible for potentially curative treatments like surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy, palliative treatments can help alleviate painful symptoms and improve quality of life. His commitment to providing this comforting care earned him the Friend of the Palliative Care Service Award in 2006.

Exploring Multimodal Therapies for Mesothelioma & Lung Cancer

A significant amount of Dr. Jahan’s research explored multimodal therapies for lung cancer and mesothelioma. He lectured nationally and internationally on these topics and contributed to numerous book chapters and journal articles, including a 2012 National Comprehensive Cancer Network overview of clinical practice guidelines in oncology for pleural mesothelioma.

Dr. Jahan also served as primary investigator in several clinical trials, including a phase II clinical trial that evaluates the safety and effectiveness of the monoclonal antibody drug MM-121 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. He also directed the research in a randomized phase II study that aims to determine the potential benefits of maintenance therapy with Alimta for pleural mesothelioma patients who completed first-line chemotherapy.

Dr. Jahan was well known for the compassion he had for his patients. When a person is told that he or she has cancer, they are stunned into silence, said Bonnie J. and Anthony Addario, who named Dr. Jahan Endowed Chair in Thoracic Oncology for the Department of Surgery at University of California, San Francisco. Thierry was able to deliver that news with hope, compassion and a great sense of what the patient is feeling.

Dr. Jahan’s Publications

In 2002, Jahan published his only article discussing mesothelioma. The article, “Radical pleurectomy/decortication and intraoperative radiotherapy followed by conformal radiation with or without chemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma,” appeared in the Journal of Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery.