Current Management of Melanoma

The history of melanoma: from Incas to the 3rd millennium.- 2 Epidemiology, prevention and clinical diagnosis.- 3 Treatment of primitive tumour.- 4 Histopathological examination: the keystone of treatment.- 5 Molecular assessment: when and why.- 6 New tumour staging: prognostic factors.- 7 Lymphatic mapping and Positron Emission Tomography (PET): the role of nuclear medicine.- 8 Evolution of sentinel lymph node biopsy technique.- 9 The rationale of sentinel lymph node biopsy: prognostic and therapeutic implications.- 10 Surgical technique and indications of radical dissections: axylla.- 11 Surgical technique and indications of radical dissections: groin.- 12 Surgical technique and indications of radical dissections: head and neck.- 13 Management of complications of radical dissections.- 14 Local treatments of loco-regional pathology.- 15 Surgical indications of metastatic disease in election.- 16 Surgical treatment of urgency.- 17 Medical treatment of melanoma: neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies.- 18 Systemic treatment in advanced melanoma.- 19 Management of brain metastases

In the last decade, the clinical management of melanoma has become more effective: basic clinical studies, randomized clinical trials, and new drugs have greatly improved the prognosis of patients, both in the initial and in the advanced stage of the disease.

This book offers a wide and up-to-date overview of the multidisciplinary treatment of melanoma. Among the topics discussed, there are the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy and the radical dissection, following the results of international randomized clinical trials, in particular MSLT-II. The last chapters are focused on new medical treatments in adjuvant, neoadjuvant, and metastatic settings.

The volume has been written for all the professionals involved in melanoma treatment, such as general surgeons, surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, dermatologists, radiotherapists, and nuclear medicine physicians.

Professor Ferdinando Cafiero is Head of the Liguria Regional Surgical Department and Head of the General Surgical Unit at the Policlinico San Martino Hospital of Genoa (Italy). His research is currently focused on neoplastic colorectal disease, soft tissue sarcomas, and melanoma, from both the diagnostic and therapeutic points of view, with a specific interest in sentinel lymph node research and the surgical treatment of lymph nodes in different tumors. From 1993 to present, he has collected over 1600 case studies on patients with melanoma. He is the author of 102 publications in indexed journals and of six monographs.

Professor Franco De Cian is full professor of General Surgery at the University of Genoa and Head of the Surgical Department at the Policlinico San Martino Hospital of Genoa (Italy). His clinical activity is mainly centered on the multimodal treatment of gastric, colorectal, liver, pancreatic, peritoneal and soft tissue neoplasms. His activity in advanced oncological surgery is characterized by high complexity interventions at regional, national and international levels. He is the author of 181 publications on national and international journals.