A surgical technique called sentinel lymph node biopsy becomes a less invasive way to assess whether early-stage melanoma has spread to surrounding lymph nodes. The procedure involves surgically removing the lymph node(s) that receives lymph drainage from the primary tumor – the "sentinel" node – and then examining it under a microscope for evidence of cancer. If the sentinel node is cancer-free, no further lymph nodes are removed and the patient is spared the previous practice of removing multiple lymph nodes. This more conservative approach is easier on patients and reduces the risk of post-operative side effects such as lymphedema. Later studies show that results of sentinel lymph node biopsy are one of the most important predictors of risk for melanoma recurrence. This information helps doctors determine which patients should be treated more aggressively to prevent their cancer from returning.

Doctors begin using advanced ultrasound techniques to assess the size, depth and spread of gastric cancers. In a procedure call endoscopic ultrasound, a thin, lighted tube is passed through the patient's mouth and into the stomach. The device then uses sound waves to create an image of the inside of the stomach.

Subsequent refinements to the procedure enable doctors to obtain small tumor biopsies or even to remove early-stage gastric tumors and precancerous lesions, a process known as endoscopic mucosal resection.

Surgeons develop and refine transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) – surgery performed via a scope inserted into the anus to remove early-stage rectal cancers less invasively. This approach is especially important as an option for patients who are too ill or elderly to undergo an open abdominal operation.

Based on pioneering preliminary studies conducted as far back as the 1950s, surgeons begin to offer a “neobladder” to select patients needing surgery (cystectomy) for bladder cancer. This procedure provides a functional replacement for the bladder using tissue fashioned from the small bowel that allows the passage of urine through the urethra. This procedure is further refined over the next decade. Prior to the introduction of this procedure, patients who underwent cystectomy needed an external device to collect urine.

While radical surgery had been routinely used to treat breast cancer, a more limited surgical procedure called total mastectomy (removing just the breast tissue instead of removing the breast, chest wall muscle and underarm lymph nodes) is confirmed to be as effective for women with early-stage breast cancer. The procedure reduces pain after surgery and speeds recovery for patients. This advance paves the way for future breast-conserving surgeries.

Surgeons report one of the first effective techniques for surgically removing the bladder (cystectomy) and surrounding tissue where cancer is most likely to spread. While this early approach carries many risks and results in month-long hospitalizations, it lays the groundwork for many surgical advances in bladder cancer surgery.