The surgical management of primary cutaneous melanoma, from the diagnostic biopsy through the wide local excision and nodal staging, must be carefully planned, and the biology of the melanoma, microstaging…
Histologic analysis remains the gold standard for diagnosis of melanoma. The pathology report should document those histologic features important for guiding patient management, including those characteristics on which the diagnosis…
Staging of cutaneous melanoma continues to evolve through identification and rigorous analysis of potential prognostic factors. In 1998, the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Melanoma Staging Committee developed the…
High-intensity focused ultrasound as a trackless, noninvasive method of ablating tissue has been a concept with potential for more than 60 years. It is only in the past 10 to…
The 5-year survival for all stages of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains bleak, having increased from 13% to just 16% over the past 30 years. Despite promising results in…
Metastatic disease is the most common neoplasm involving the skeletal system and can result in significant pain and morbidity. Although narcotic medications and external beam radiation therapy remain the standard…
While surgical excision remains the gold standard for curative treatment of small renal cell carcinomas, ablative therapy has a place as a minimally invasive, kidney function–preserving therapy in carefully selected…
Minimally invasive ablative therapy techniques are being used in research protocols to treat benign and malignant tumors of the breast in select patient populations. These techniques offer the advantages of…
CTs or MRIs are essential for preablative therapy planning of hepatic tumors to identify accurate size, number, and location of tumors. Tumors larger than 5 cm and located near the…
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA), usually performed under percutaneous ultrasound guidance, is considered the gold standard among minimally invasive therapies. On the strength of some recent randomized trials, its indications include operable…
