He developed the isolated limb infusion technique of regional chemotherapy for melanoma and soft-tissue sarcoma and was a pioneer of the sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure, becoming President of the International Sentinel Node Society in 2006 (until 2008). He was chairman of the Australian and New Zealand Melanoma Trials Group from 2002-2013 and has been chairman of the Australian Melanoma Management Guidelines Working Party since 2005. A fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, he has been elected as an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Surgical Association, and as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
Professor Thompson has authored over 850 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters, has been the editor of 11 books, and has served on the editorial boards of several major international journals. In 2014 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) “for distinguished service to medicine in the field of oncology research, particularly melanoma, to international and national professional organisations, and to medical education.”