The series "Medical Radiology - Diagnostic Imaging and Radiation Oncology" is the successor to the well known "Encyclopedia of Medical RadiologyjHandbuch der medizinischen Radiologie". This international handbook with its unique compila- tion of data in more than fifty volumes lags behind the fast developing knowledge in radiology today. "Medical Radiology" brings the state of the art on special topics in a timely fashion. The first volume of the series was "Lung cancer", edited by Scarantino. This volume "Innovation in Radiation Oncology", edited by H.R. Withers and L.J. Peters, presents data on the development of new therapeutic strategies in different oncologic diseases. 57 authors wrote 32 chapters covering a broad range of topics. The innovations are at various levels of development, but were all chosen with the practicing radiation oncologist in mind. Perhaps not all of the innovations will survive the test of time, others have now become well established standard procedure in some centers. Also discussed is the assessment of the effectiveness of standard treat- ment and how it effects the quality of a patient's survival.
The contributions have been grouped into 9 broad sections as outlined in the table of contents. We think the second volume, as the whole series, will provide valuable reading for the general community of radiation oncologists.

Foreword by: Luther W. Brady, Hans-Peter Heilmann