David Gyorki is a specialist surgeon in complex surgical oncology – surgery for patients with cancer.

In addition to his private practice, David is a consultant surgeon at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre as well as the Olivia Newton John Cancer Centre with a particular interest in the management of patients with melanoma, soft tissue sarcoma and breast cancer.

David is one of only a small number of surgeons in Australia with a surgical practice dedicated to the management of cancer patients. This specialised focus allows David to understand the complexity and nuance of each individual patient and to help tailor a multidisciplinary treatment plan. By understanding the role of all treatment options in the management of his patients, he is better able to determine the best surgical approach. Sometimes optimal treatment may involve no surgery at all.

After completing his training in General Surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital and at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, David was awarded fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Following this, he pursued further specialist training in Surgical Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, USA, one of the world’s foremost cancer centres.

David has a strong academic focus and is committed to ensuring the most up to date treatment for his patients. He is a member of the Australian Melanoma Guidelines Working Party as well as an American Society of Clinical Oncology Melanoma guidelines expert panel. He is also a board member of the Australian Sarcoma Study Group and an active member of the Transatlantic Retroperitoneal Sarcoma Working Group. David has published widely in the fields of melanoma, soft tissue sarcoma and breast cancer.

During his surgical training, David spent two years undertaking a doctorate at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research studying the interaction of breast stem cells and the immune system. His research was awarded the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Basic Science Scholarship at the world’s premier breast cancer conference. David maintains a focus on understanding the fundamental mechanisms driving cancer progression in order to help develop new treatments and ultimately cures.

He is now investigating the role of the immune system in controlling the spread of melanoma and has secured competitive research grants and developed strong laboratory collaborations to study the immune cells located within melanomas.