Doctors continue to encourage more and more mesothelioma patients into clinical trials.

Families dealing with a diagnosis of mesothelioma are typically overwhelmed. A patient is often diagnosed with this deadly form of cancer 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Determining how a victim was exposed, and who is responsible, is just one important task. And time is often short – with a median survival after diagnosis of about 12 months.

By consulting with an experienced mesothelioma law firm, families can gain access to some of the leading medical and legal professionals in the field. Veteran lawyers experienced in mesothelioma litigation can often help with information and resources regarding treatment advances and the leading research centers. Leaders in the medical field are working on the latest treatments, and the clinical trials aimed at finding new treatment to increase longevity and improve quality of life.

We understand a diagnosis is overwhelming. And we want you to know there is a support system in place to help. Determining how a victim was exposed to the asbestos that resulted in a mesothelioma diagnosis is central from a legal standpoint. But the mesothelioma community stands ready with a wide range of resources of which law firms that focus on mesothelioma litigation are often aware.

The National Cancer Institute reports only about 5 percent of all cancer patients in the United States participate in clinical trials. Lack of participation in clinical trials is one reason progress has been slow in the fight against rare cancers like mesothelioma.

About 3,500 patients a year are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the United States. However, that number is expected to grow exponentially with the retirement of the baby boom generation, many of whom were exposed to asbestos in schools, in the military, and on the job through the 1970s when the use of asbestos was commonplace.

Clinical trials can be a vital resource for patients fighting the disease. And patients are a vital resource for such trials, which are racing to bring the next generation of treatments to the nation’s oncology centers. In mid-2012, there are 164 clinical trials involving different levels of mesothelioma research that are either recruiting participants, actively engaged in the testing of participants, or have recently concluded such testing, according to the National Institutes of Health. Among the most promising treatments are gene therapy and immunotherapy, which manipulate a person’s immune system into attacking cancerous cells.

“Participation of patients with mesothelioma in clinical trials is essential if we are going to make progress and develop novel therapies,” said Raffit Hassan, M.D., a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute, which is part of NIH.

On the legal side, fighting on behalf of mesothelioma victims and their families is just as complex. The host of companies responsible for negligently exposing victims to asbestos continue the fight to dodge responsibility.

In some cases, they deny asbestos exposure or otherwise challenge causation. In other cases, corporations have used federal bankruptcy laws to establish mesothelioma trusts in an attempt to limit their exposure for the millions of dollars in damages suffered by victims and their families.