Twenty-five years ago, a monograph on gastric cancer was published by the Italian Society of Surgery: that book is recognized as a milestone in the management of these tumors in Italy. Oncological and surgical knowledge in the field of gastric cancer have changed dramatically over the last 25 years. The aim of this book is to offer an essential update on current diagnostic approaches and optimal treatment strategies. It gives comprehensive information on gastric cancer not neglecting the basic sciences, which can shed light on the carcinogenesis mechanisms involved in this pathology. The principles of tailored and multimodal treatment are examined according to the latest guidelines with the aim of providing a valuable synopsis for clinicians. The book not only reviews what has changed in the field of gastric cancer over the past quarter century but also offers the reader a glimpse of the future by describing the ongoing surgical and oncological trials which focus on new treatment frontiers such as immunotherapy and target therapy. It also seeks to incorporate the latest discoveries based on molecular classifications. Further, the book reflects the findings and experiences of Italian experts belonging to the GIRCG (Italian Research Group for Gastric Cancer) and will offer an excellent guide for oncological surgeons in their daily practice of caring for patients affected by gastric cancer.

Included here is a discussion of the pathophysiological aspects and risks of laparoscopic staging (such as trocar metastases) on the basis of international experience.

Gastric cancer has been one of the great malignant scourges affecting man kind for as long as medical records have been kept. Until operative resection pioneered by Bilroth and others became available, no effective treatment was feasible and death from cancer was virtually inevitable. Even with resection by total gastrectomy, the chances of tumor eradication remained small. Over recent years, however, the situation has been changing. Some changes have resulted from better understanding of the disease, early detec tion, and better management techniques with applied clinical research, but the reasons for other changes are poorly understood. For example, the incidence of gastric cancer is decreasing, especially in westernized societies, where it has fallen from one of the most common cancers to no longer being in the top five causes of cancer death. Still it remains the number one killer of adult males in Japan and Korea. Whether the reduced incidence in western societies is a result of dietary changes or methods of food preservation, or some other reason, is as yet uncertain. Improvements in outcome have been reported from mass screening and early detection; more refined techniques of establishing early diagnosis, tumor type, and tumor extent; more radical surgical resection; and resection at earlier stages of disease.

World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolu­tion, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wear­able sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine “smart factories” in which global systems of manu­facturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individu­als. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future—one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frame­works that advance progress.

This book provides detailed, comprehensive and illustrative content to the surgical community in the areas of foregut oncologic surgery. The text contains an in depth review of all surgical aspects of oncologic diseases involving the stomach and esophagus. The main focus is on the minimally invasive techniques including potential complications and their management. The text also includes an online link for the videos for all minimally invasive foregut surgical procedures including animation content which provide a more comprehensive learning experience. Minimally Invasive Foregut Surgery for Malignancy: Principles and Practice is structured in a way that makes it useful at every level of training and will be of great utility to practicing surgeons, fellows in surgical subspecialty training and surgical residents.​

This report considers the biological and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie the pathogenicity of tobacco smoke. Many Surgeon General's reports have considered research findings on mechanisms in assessing the biological plausibility of associations observed in epidemiologic studies. Mechanisms of disease are important because they may provide plausibility, which is one of the guideline criteria for assessing evidence on causation. This report specifically reviews the evidence on the potential mechanisms by which smoking causes diseases and considers whether a mechanism is likely to be operative in the production of human disease by tobacco smoke. This evidence is relevant to understanding how smoking causes disease, to identifying those who may be particularly susceptible, and to assessing the potential risks of tobacco products.

The American Joint Committee on Cancer's Cancer Staging Manual is used by physicians throughout the world to diagnose cancer and determine the extent to which cancer has progressed. All of the TNM staging information included in this Sixth Edition is uniform between the AJCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer) and the UICC (International Union Against Cancer). In addition to the information found in the Handbook, the Manual provides standardized data forms for each anatomic site, which can be utilized as permanent patient records, enabling clinicians and cancer research scientists to maintain consistency in evaluating the efficacy of diagnosis and treatment. The CD-ROM packaged with each Manual contains printable copies of each of the book’s 45 Staging Forms.

Despite recent advances in adjuvant therapies of cancer, the regi mens of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy treatment which are presently available fail to cure the majority of cancer patients. Pre operative (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy represents a new approach in drug scheduling, based on sound theoretical, pharmacokinetic, and experimental principles. The preoperative timing of chemotherapy before definitive sur gery is not a minor change in the therapy of cancer. To be successful, large numbers of practitioners and their patients must participate. Substantial alterations of many aspects of the present management of cancer will have to follow. Therefore, before such therapy can be fully and routinely implemented, results of the novel treatment and its rationale have to be carefully evaluated. In preoperative treatment, other features will likely gain impor tance. For the first time, clinicians have a chance to follow the in vivo response of the tumor exposed to preoperative chemotherapy. The subsequent histological assessment of the tumor sample may likely become an important prognostic guide, permitting more re fined individual approaches to the planning of postoperative adju vant treatment. The value of such a treatment strategy can already be appreciated in the clinical setting, as seen from the therapy of osteosarcoma. Furthermore, preoperative chemotherapy might render previously inoperable tumors operable and hence resectable with a curative intention. The preoperative reduction of tumor bulk may also effectively decrease the need for more radical operations, permitting a more uniform adoption of conservative surgery.

"The WHO Classification of Tumours of the Digestive System presented in this book reflects the views of a Working Group that convened for an Editorial and Consensus Conference at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, December 10-12, 2009"--P. [5].

This textbook focuses on the nascent field of Immunoepidemiology that addresses how differences in immune responses among individuals affect the epidemiology of infectious diseases, cancer, hypersensitivity, and autoimmunity. The idea for the book originated from a course entitled “Immunology for Epidemiologists“ at the Yale School of Public Health. While many fine textbooks are available that address the immunological responses of individuals to pathogens, these provided very little information regarding how immunological variation among populations affects the epidemiology of disease. And yet, it has long been recognized that there is great immunologic diversity among people, which can have a profound effect on the epidemiology of disease. Careful review of the immunologic and epidemiologic literature revealed that there have been relatively few publications concerning immunoepidemiology and that no textbook is available on the subject. This textbook therefore aims to fill this void by providing a much-needed tool to comprehensively and efficiently teach immunoepidemiology. The book includes a section on the basic principles of immunology, and then applies them to particular examples of disease in human populations. The target audience for this text book are Masters of Public Health students. Others who should also find it of interest include PhD students in epidemiology, immunology, medical students, generalists, and specialists in immunology, infectious diseases, cancer, and rheumatology.