Cancer Surveys is produced as a service to all concerned with cancer, whether in diagnosis, treatment or research. It is published for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press and is advised by a strong international Editorial Board. Its main purpose is to break down the isolation between different disciplines by bridging the gap between the laboratory, the clinic and the epidemiologist so that each is aware of the state of the art and of the problems in related fields. Each issue in the series provides a comprehensive survey of the present state and future development in a well-defined area in oncology in which there is current scientific or clinical interest. Each issue has one or more Guest Editors who have a special knowledge of the specific field. They provide a general assessment. The invited papers are from leaders in the field and are original contributions reviewing the author's own work, including as much new information as possible and setting the work in context. Authors are encouraged to use a selective approach, discussing those areas which they feel to be important, misunderstood or misinterpreted. They are also encouraged to identify areas of confusion and to speculate on possible ways forward. In particular, the possible inter-relationship between laboratory and clinical findings is stressed. The enormous output of papers directly related to cancer and the many others dealing with the wide range of biological topics of interest to cancer workers make it almost impossible to keep track of new developments. Cancer Surveys provides a coordinated assessment of the relevance of new findings in the particular field considered in each issue.