Historically patients with Stage IV disease have had surgery only of a palliative nature, for example resecting small bowel metastases. There has been a dramatic change in the role of surgery in Stage IV disease however, with the advent of the new highly effective systemic therapies in Melanoma.
The landscape has changed from one of symptomatic control to an environment where surgery can complement the systemic therapies in achieving complete disease control/remission. A variety of current clinical cases, illustrating the current complimentary role in surgery of advanced disease, along with new surgical and other interventional techniques will map out how this area has changed recently and will continue to evolve.