The seventh annual multidisciplinary symposium on clinical oncology organised by the Royal College of Radiologists discussed the subject of malignant brain tumours. It was held in London in February 1985 and this volume collects together the edited texts of the papers which were presented at the meeting. Primary tumours of the central nervous system account for about 9070 of all malignant diseases but as much as 20% of all paediatric neoplasms. The prognosis ranges from excellent for some of the less aggressive tumours, through good for children's tumours such as medulloblastoma, to appalling for the high-grade adult astrocytomas. Improvements in pathological diagnosis and surgical and radiothera peutic techniques have led to considerable sequential improvements in outcome over those obtained in the past. In contrast the response to chemotherapy over the whole range of tumours remains disappoint ing, and clearly awaits new drugs and methods of delivery. The relative rarity of individual types of tumours, apart from the commoner high-grade adult astrocytomas, has made progress in terms of clinical trials difficult to organise. In spite of this much investigative work is in progress. The symposium, and the present volume, were designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject by experts, with an emphasis on the possible routes to future progress. The topics included aspects of pathology, imaging, diagno sis and treatment of both the common and uncommon primary tumours. It is hoped the papers will stimulate further interest and activity in this difficult area of clinical therapy and investigation."

The eighth annual multidisciplinary symposium on clinical oncol ogy organised by the Royal College of Radiologists discussed the subject of investigational techniques in oncology. It was held in London in February 1986. This volume collects together the edited texts of the papers which were presented at the meeting, together with the George Edelstyn memorial lecture given by Professor J. Einhorn. Clinicians rely very heavily on pathologists and radiologists to help with the diagnosis and staging of patients who present with malignant tumours. The conventional techniques to which we have become accustomed are fast being supplemented by exciting new approaches. These have moved very rapidly from being purely experimental techniques to being a part of routine clinical practice. Some of these new approaches have been highlighted in this symposium. Recent advances in molecular biology have produced various specific techniques for looking at phenotypic changes in cells as detected by immunohistochemical probes. Visualisation of genes and their transcripts in human biopsies has become a real possibility using a wide and increasing range of molecular probes. Some of the advantages of these techniques and their potential for the future are presented here."

The subject of the Sixth Symposium on Clinical Oncology of the Royal College of Radiologists held in February 1984 was ovarian cancer. This publication presents the collected papers delivered at that meeting, but excludes much useful discussion which also took place. The annual clinical oncology symposia have been designed to re- view topics of current interest in cancer therapy from a multidis- ciplinary point if view. It was gratifying to the organisers and all who took part that the aims were so well met by both the contrib- utors and discussants. We believe that this can only be to the ad- vantage of future research and our present and future patients. Ovarian cancer is a common gynaecological cancer which freqently presents late. Its clinical management is bedevilled by the variable referral routes through which patients present for treatment. Thus, many are first seen by general abdominal sur- geons who may not be expert in their treatment, rather than gynaecologists or gynaecological oncologists. There are many in- teresting features about it which have been discussed by the var- ious speakers. Early spread within the abdomen is common, spread outside the abdomen less common. There is a variety of histopathological types, each with distinct aetiological, prognos- VI Preface tic and therapeutic assocations. In contrast to most cancers, sur- gical debulking of tumour is considered valuable even when there is no possibility of removing all tumour by the knife.

The ninth annual multidisciplinary symposium on clinical oncology organized by the Royal College of Radiologists was jointly arranged with the International Society for Radiation Oncology. It was held in London in February 1987 and discussed the biological and clinical basis of the effects of radiotherapy. Wherever possible lectures by an experimental scientist were paired with those of a clinical scientist in order to emphasize clinical relevance. It is hoped that this has resulted in a widely balanced view of the subject. The volume presents an updated version of these subjects based on those talks. After surgery, radiotherapy is the main treatment used in the management of patients with cancer. Its empirical success when first introduced is now backed up by a wealth of laboratory, clinical and experimental experience. New techniques for adminis tering the conventional X-ray therapy have been supplemented by methods which can be used to modify the radiation response. These include changes in dose rate or fractionation, and combined modality treatments including sensitization by drugs or heat. Other types of radiation, such as neutrons and other particles, are also now available which have enhanced physical and biological advantages.