Bücher der Reihe UICC International Union Against Cancer

Herausgegeben unter Mitwirkung der UICC (Union internationale contre le cancer / International Union against Cancer)

This compilation represents the first phase of a more extensive process to integrate all prognostic factors in cancer to further enhance the prediction of outcome following treatment. Importance of Prognostic Factors Prognostic factors in cancer often have an immense influence on outcome, while treatment often has a much weaker effect.

The fourth edition of the TNM Classification was published in 1987,1 and a revision in 1992.2 It was the result of efforts by all national TNM Committees towards a worldwide uniform classification.

Edited under the Auspices of the International Union against Cancer

The continuing success of the VICC's Manual of Clinical Oncology and the continuing refinement of our educational objectives in cancer designed for graduating medical students and young practitioners, cou pled with significant additional knowledge in the cancer field have allIed to the decision to publish a Fourth Edition.

It is a very special honour for me to be able to present this handbook of medical oncology, which under diverse headings and origins covers such a vast spectrum of experience.

During the last few decades, there has been a tremendous improvement in the treatment of cancer. VICC Treatment and Rehabilitation Programme ISMAIL ELSEBAI Chairman Preface The three main approaches to the treatment of cancer are surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.

Distributed for the International Union against Cancer / Union internationale contre le cancer

Distributed for the International Union against Cancer

While our knowledge about cancer is proliferating rapidly, our principles of cancer medicine for individual patients and for populations are evolving only gradually. Our fundamental understanding of cancer causes and deve­ lopment is incomplete, and our treatments are nonspecific and less often curative than we would like. Nevertheless, worldwide, our major challenge remains to apply to our populations all that we know about cancer. To meet this challenge, doctors everywhere need a broad view and under­ standing of cancer causes and control. This book is intended for doctors-in-training and clinical medical practi­ tioners; it provides principles across the breadth of cancer medicine. The editors and authors believe that it is possible to reduce the exposition of current knowledge to the compact 40 chapters and 600 pages presented here without losing the comprehensiveness, richness, and pragmatic detail that doctors need. This compilation presumes knowledge of the basic sciences, particularly genetics, pathology, anatomy, and physiology. We have tried to balance scientific exposition with practical material in preven­ tion, early detection, and palliative care, which are the major areas of pub­ lic health medicine where greater attention is needed worldwide. While this book is based, in part, on material prepared for previous edi­ tions, each chapter has been newly written and edited by the authors and editorial staff for this edition.