“…'~,'~ However, routine clinical application is extremely limited because it is performed only at several major medical centers. 13 Although the long-term survival of systemic melanoma is poor, the most significant indicator for prolongation of life in patients with systemic metastasis is tlie surgical resectability of such 1esi0ns.l~ In patients with symptomatic GI tract involvement surgical intervention can improve the quality of life.3 However, diagnosis is often delayed until the patient becomes emergently ill from a complication of the meta~tasis.4"~ Ricaniadis et a17 obtained a 27.6-month median survival time after complete resection of GI melanoma metastasis, if no other evidence of dissemination was present at the time of surgery. Their 5-year survival rate was 28.3%.…”