Progress in Pediatric Cancer Surgery: Recent Advances in the Surgical Management of Neoplasms in Infants and Children

Cancer ranks second only to accidents as a cause of death in children. It is now the leading cause of death from disease in children of ages 3 to 14 years. The years of potential salvage provide a better measure of general importance than the 1% contribution to malignant disease of all ages. "Management" properly implies that all phases of total care are the concern of the surgeon, and "recent advances" may conveniently be presented under 4 headings: research and education, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Research and Education Cancer in children is a major concern for an increasing number of physicians and institutions, and this has inevitably accelerated progress in management and understanding. Rupert Willis' recent book title, Borderlands of Embryology and Pathology , recognizes the fundamental biologic significance of growth research in the young. 1 No tumor of the adult ordinarily grows as rapidly as does the normal embryo. Nowhere