Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for more than 10 million deaths each year and an even larger number of patients who are diagnosed with this disease and have to undergo various procedures. All of this has happened following the increased number of risk factors that have impacted our lives over the past few decades, such as tobacco use, obesity and different unhealthy diets, alcohol consumption, viral infections, and exposure to certain chemicals or radiation. Our goal as medical practitioners or scientists is to obtain the best outcome for our patients, from prophylactic procedures to a correct diagnosis, specific multimodal treatment, and rigorous follow-up. All of these factors have significantly improved in the last few years because of a better understanding of the genetic and molecular mechanisms of cancer development, the emergence of new technologies in cancer detection or surgical techniques, and breakthroughs in oncological therapies. However, there remains a huge field to explore, considering the current unknowns and the alert dynamics under which cancer evolves. Oncology is the medical field that requires the mobilization of most medical specialties in order to outline the particular profile of each individual patient and optimize the necessary treatment.

This book is included in DOAB.