Proceedings of the 3rd International Congress on Neo-Adjuvant Chemotherapy

This book brings together the most important papers presented during the 3rdInternational Congress on Neo-adjuvant Chemotherapy. It offers a panoramic view of the international experience of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. In upper respiratory/gastrointestinal tumours neo-adjuvant chemotherapy has an essential role in the conservation of the larynx, and benefits regarding survival are becoming apparent. In breast tumours it allows conservative treatment in more than 80% of cases, with improved relapse-free survival. In lung cancers, particularly epidermoid carcinomas, intervention is possible in inoperable cases. Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy assists local control measures and allows less mutilating forms of treatment in oesophageal carcinomas and generally in epidermoid carcinomas, particularly invasive tumours of thehead and neck, the vulva and the anus. In bladder tumours neo-adjuvant chemotherapy has an important role in local therapy. In these fields research is aimed at improving the efficacy of treatment while bypassing tumour resistance mechanisms. The methods include metabolic manipulation (PFL), intensification of the doses, the use of growth factors and autologous grafts, increasing the concentration at the tumour site by intra-arterial injection (a technique particularly used for gastrointestinal tumours), and combining chemotherapy with biological response modifiers. All these topics form the subject of chapters in this book, which should direct the reader towards better and more effective therapeutic strategies.