The articles in this edition of European Oncology cover a variety of cancers by therapeutic area. What they have in common is their relevance to salient topics in oncological theory and practice. They endeavour to provide the reader with up-to-date information regarding advances in treatment strategies and the development of novel therapies.
The articles in this edition of European Oncology cover a variety of cancers by therapeutic area. What they have in common is their relevance to salient topics in oncological theory and practice. They endeavour to provide the reader with up-to-date information regarding advances in treatment strategies and the development of novel therapies.
With the number of new cancer diagnoses set to soar in the next decade, it is a welcome relief to read about the improving survivorship statistics due to advances in early detection and treatment. Christine Hill-Kayser et al. opens this edition with a discussion about the unique needs of cancer survivors and how the Internet has provided an opportune tool by which to communicate survivorship care plans to healthcare providers and cancer survivors internationally. Julie L Ryan addresses the need for evidence-based interventions in the treatment of chemotherapy-related nausea, suggesting that the management of the debilitating symptoms should be treated before they occur.
In the ‘Breast Cancer’ section, Antonis Valachis and Davide Mauri discuss partial breast irradiation (PBI) as an alternative to whole breast radiotherapy (WBRT), highlighting the benefits of PBI over WBRT. They conclude that while this radiation-delivery technique is unlikely to replace WBRT as the ‘gold standard’ treatment for all early breast cancer patients, ongoing phase III randomised trials will identify patients who will really benefit from PBI.
The role of epidermal growth factor receptor mutational testing in personalising the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer is discussed by Philip J Ginsburg in the ‘Lung Cancer’ section. Diagnostic and therapeutic advances offer the potential to improve patient care and bring new hope to cancer patients.
Alan Ravaud et al. discuss the treatment strategies in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. As understanding of the molecular biology of renal cell carcinoma has grown, so to has the development of targeted agents that have significantly improved outcomes in patients with metastatic carcinomas.
Individual treatment strategies for patients with advanced-stage III/IV follicular lymphoma are examined by Frank Heinzelmann et al. in the ‘Haematological Malignancies’ section. Pedro Valero et al. discuss and review the early clinical applications of magnetic-resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery in the treatment of oncology patients, in the ‘Radiology and Imaging’ section.
European Oncology would like to thank everyone involved for successfully providing interesting and informative expert discussion on a variety of matters relevant to those involved in the field of oncology. We would like to thank the organisations and media partners for their support, the editorial board for their thoughts and suggestions and the individual authors for their valued contributions. We trust that you will find this an educational and interesting read. ■