Surgery continues to be the most effective treatment of solid tumors in terms of recovery, while its combination with other treatments improves the survival curves especially in the advanced forms of the disease.

The aim of my task first of all has been to provide readers with both the current and constantly evolving pathophysiologic knowledge required for building the foundation of a specific education enabling surgeons to meet the fundamental targets in surgical oncology. Secondly, this volume aims to present an update on the real possibilities offered by the cooperation between surgeon and pathologist and by chemotherapy, radiotherapy and gene therapy in the treatment of tumors in the light of the most recent scientific achievements. Lastly, the report presents the experiences and cases drawn mostly from our School regarding some of the major issues in oncologic surgery.

This overview does not pretend to elucidate or to summarize all aspects of oncologic surgery, but rather to be the result of a general consideration on cancer surgery, on its rational bases, on its interaction with other treatment modalities, on its desirable and expected developments and on its probable future evolution.