Melanoma. Clinical practice guidelines in oncology

It should be emphasized that these treatment practice guidelines are guidelines, not absolute recommendations for treatment. They represent an effort to distill and simplify an enormous body of knowledge and experience into fairly simple management algorithms. In general, treatment recommendations for primary tumors are based on better data than the recommendations for treating recurrent disease. Few, if any, firm recommendations can be made about more controversial issues such as the extent of work-up or intensity of follow-up of the melanoma patient. These guidelines are intended as a point of departure, recognizing all clinical decisions about individual patient management must be tempered by the clinician's judgment, and factors such as local resources and expertise and the individual patient's needs, wishes, and expectations. Furthermore, these guidelines are undergoing continual revision and upgrading as new data become available.