Useful Management Information

  • Refer patients with suspected primary Melanoma through local surgical pathway for further investigation and management.
  • If the referring clinician organises a biopsy – please ensure a core or excisional biopsy is performed
  • Patients with some Stage 3 Melanoma may receive immunotherapy as their first cancer treatment / as neoadjuvant therapy prior to surgery. However, the referral for initial assessment should be made to the General, Melanoma or Plastic surgical service, not medical oncology
  • Histology (biopsy or surgical specimen) should include immunohistochemistry and next generation sequencing for BRAF mutation status
  • For women and men who have not completed their family, fertility preservation needs to be discussed
  • For patients with incurable (metastatic or recurrent) cancer consider the following:
  • documentation of discussions with the patient (and their carers where appropriate) regarding the intent of treatment (anti-cancer therapy to improve quality of life and/or longevity without expectation of cure or symptom palliation), the Women's and men's prognosis and their understanding of their prognosis
  • whether Advance Care Planning (ACP) conversations have been undertaken and their outcome
  • specific patient goals and values that may impact on treatment choices
  • whether the patient has been referred to a palliative or supportive care service
  • Quick reference guide

Minimum Referral Criteria

Does your patient meet the minimum referral criteria?
Category 1 (appointment within 30 calendar days)
  • Patients with Melanoma should be referred to the General, Melanoma or Plastic surgical team for evaluation and further investigation. Patients are usually then presented in a multi-disciplinary meeting for treatment planning and further referral if required for Medical Oncology input
  • Metastatic melanoma with suspected rapid progress or organ dysfunction (such as high volume liver metastasis), for optimum care, patient should be seen within 2 weeks
  • Neoadjuvant immunotherapy for clinically confirmed stage 3 melanoma prior to surgery (usually referred by Surgeon after MDT), for optimum care, patient should be seen within 2 weeks
  • Adjuvant treatment after surgery (usually referred after MDT by surgeon)
  • Metastatic melanoma (De novo or following treatment for early-stage cancer) and has tissue confirmation (referral to general surgeons for biopsy of metastatic disease may be indicated)
  • Patients with suspected late (immune-related) toxicities from treatment
Category 2 (appointment within 90 calendar days)
  • Transfer of care from another health service
Category 3 (appointment within 365 calendar days)
  • No category 3 criteria

If your patient does not meet the minimum referral criteria

  • Assessment and management information may be found on a range of conditions at HealthPathways
  • If the patient does not meet the criteria for referral but the referring practitioner believes the patient requires specialist review, a clinical override may be requested:
    • Please explain why (e.g. warning signs or symptoms, clinical modifiers, uncertain about diagnosis, etc.)
  • Please note that your referral may not be accepted or may be redirected to another service

Essential Referral Information

  • Detailed history of present signs and symptoms
  • Past medical history/pertinent social history
  • Current medications and allergies
  • Histology report
  • FBC
  • U&E
  • LFT
  • LDH
  • CT Brain, Chest, Abdomen, and Pelvis

Additional Referral Information

  • Other available imaging
Last updated 19 February 2025

Send Referrals To

Smart Referrals

Preferred Method
About Smart Referrals

Secure Web Transfer

Not Available

Internal Referrals

Medical Oncology (E-Blueslips)

Fax

(07) 5687 4497

Post

Cancer Referral Centre,
Gold Coast University Hospital
1 Hospital Boulevard
Southport QLD 4215

Enquiries

(07) 5687 2708

Related HealthPathways

No directly related pathways found

Service Availability

Dr Marcin Dzienis
Medical Director Radiation Oncology (ICON Cancer Care)

Facilities

Gold Coast University Hospital

If you would like to send a named referral, please address it to the specialist listed above, who will allocate a suitably qualified specialist to see the patient. Alternatively, you can view a full list of our specialists.

Gold Coast Health - For Clinicians
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