Statistically speaking, head and neck cancer per se (excluding melano ma and basal cell carcinoma) does not outwardly seem to pose a serious threat - 27,500/870,000 total cancer cases estimated for 1984 (or 3.2% of all cancers) and 9,350/450,000 total cancer deaths in 1984 (or 2.1 %) for the United States. Yet in clinical practice, by the time that diagnosis is made, more than 60% of oral cancers have already spread to the nearby lymph node system. And while the overall five-year survival rate for localized oral cancer is 67%, this rate decreases drastically to only 25% when the original cancer has metastasized. Scientific textbooks all too often are merely a compilation of dis crete parts, rather than a correlated, integrated whole. Dr. Hamner and his colleagues have achieved such an integrated, succinct version in The Management of Head and Neck Cancer. The outstanding group of contributors bring to the book a wealth of accumulated knowledge and expertise in their various cancer spe cialty disciplines. They are associated with some of the most distin guished cancer centers in the United States.