Contributing to the promise of Surgical Oncology

17 March 2017
Researchers and clinicians from Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) are meeting with more than 1,700 colleagues from around the world today at the prestigious Society of Surgical Oncology’s Annual Cancer Symposium in Seattle, USA. The theme of the meeting is “discovering the promise of what’s possible” and invites attendees to learn about the exciting possibilities for improving oncologic outcomes for patients.
The conference provides surgical oncology leaders with an opportunity to share research and network to advance the field. Four of MIA’s current or former fellows are presenting their research to colleagues at the conference, in addition to several more in attendance.
MIA's 2016 Poche Surgical Fellow, Dr Kim Isaacs, is sharing her research at the conference. Most guidelines recommend that melanoma patients have a complete lymph node dissection after they have had a positive sentinel lymph node identified; however, this doesn’t always happen. Dr Isaacs’s research investigated the factors that influence a melanoma patient’s choice to have a complete lymph node dissection or not. This research will help determine why some patients are not going ahead with this potentially life-saving surgery.
Research fellow, Trine Schoenfeldt, from Denmark is presenting her MIA research that is looking at the ideal surgical management for patients who have melanoma metastases in the sentinel nodes located near their armpit (specifically the triangular intermuscular space). How to manage patients with these metastases is considered controversial for surgeons, so having scientific evidence about the best course of treatment will ensure the best care for patients.

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