Over the last three decades, knowledge on the molecular biology of human cancers has vastly expanded. A host of genes and proteins involved in cancer development and progression have been defined and many mechanisms at the molecular, cellular and even tissue level have been, at least partly, elucidated. Insights have also been gained into the molecular mechanisms underlying carcinogenesis by chemical, physical, and biological agents and into inherited susceptibility to cancer.
More than ever, cancer research is now an interdisciplinary effort which requires a basic knowledge of commonly used terms, facts, issues, and concepts. The aim of this book is to provide advanced students and practitioners of different disciplines with this basis, bridging the gap between standard textbooks of molecular biology, pathology, and oncology on the one hand and the specialized cancer literature on the other.