Wake Forest School of Medicine and FirstHealth of the Carolinas Partner for Mesothelioma Study

The FirstHealth of the Carolinas, a private, not-for-profit health care network serving the mid-Carolinas, Clinical Trials Department has partnered with the Wake Forest School of Medicine to promote participation in a research study investigating the development and progression of asbestos-related lung diseases and cancers. The study is requesting participants that have been diagnosed with mesothelioma to contact FirstHealth Clinical Trials.

Dr. Jill Ohar of Wake Forest University who has been researching mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, for more than 20 years, is the study’s principal investigator. Dr. Ohar has found during her research “that there is a strong tendency for mesothelioma to run in families and it tends to be associated with a family history of cancer, which suggests a genetic susceptibility.”

The current study is being conducted to examine the associated environmental factors and genetic markers of people diagnosed with mesothelioma. Specifically the research will attempt to identify how frequently encountered environmental pollutants affect the body and determine the genetic factors that make some families more susceptible than others to mesothelioma and other forms of cancer.

See FirstHealth for more information.