Preface

This book focuses on the lung cancer, which is the mostly encountered, and one of the most challenging malignant diseases of the world. Worldwide, the annual number of new cases of lung cancer is estimated at more than one million and is expected to increase to ten million in 2025. Fortunately, the political efforts to reduce the use of tobacco are getting increasing attention in many countries and the statistics are now showing the first positive results.

Over the last decade there have been several improvements and changes in the lung cancer management. Among the epidemiologic changes we see a change in the histopathologic pattern, with a relative decrease in squamous cell carcinoma and a rise in adenocarcinoma. Much research is attempting to identify biomarkers to predict a high risk for developing lung cancer. This will be important for implementing screening and prevention strategies. There is a steady improvement of the overall management of lung cancer based on an increasing use of combined modality therapy, consisting of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy applied concurrently or sequentially in early stage disease. Furthermore, new techniques are gaining ground, both within surgery and radiotherapy, and targeted medical therapy is being offered to more and more patients.

This book is not intended as a comprehensive textbook, but as a concise summary of advances in lung cancer clinical research and treatment for the clinician. The textbook brings up-to-date information about lung cancer, based on worldwide experience, for the use of the many physicians involved in this field.

All of the authors have been selected for their expertise and proven achievement in these challenging fields; I would like to sincerely thank all of them for participating with enthusiasm in this project. I hope that the different contributions will help the readers to fill in the gaps and stimulate them for future developments.