Optimization of margins to minimize morbidity and maximize local control is critical to the success of surgical management of primary melanomas. This article synthesizes the historical perspectives and key clinical trials that have contributed to the evolution of resection margins for melanoma, focusing on the importance of surgical margins in the context of an era of improvements in systemic therapy and greater use of minimally invasive techniques.
Keywords: Mohs micrographic surgery; guidelines; immunotherapy; prospective trial; wide local excision.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.