Review of surgical management of thoracic melanoma metastases.
This chapter is a review of the historical and current treatment options and guidelines for melanoma metastases to the thorax.
The points that need to be covered are:
– Treatment options in the past; their advantages and disadvantages and the outcomes of those treatments in terms of survival rates, morbidity and mortality.
– Current treatment guidelines, with emphasis and elaboration on the guidelines on surgical intervention.
– Benefits and risks/disadvantages of surgical excision of the mets.
The primary focus is on SURGICAL EXCISION of the metastases. At least 60% of the chapter should be dedicated to it. It should be reviewed in terms of the recommendations for and against it, the benefits and disadvantages and long term outcomes expected of surgical intervention based on published studies, the more recent the studies the better. The studies on the surgical excision of these mets need to be referenced. It would be preferable for at least five studies to be included, the more the better. Predominantly it needs to cover metastases to the lungs, but if information is available on metastases to other parts of the chest cavity then that can be included.