Preface
In recent decades, better understanding of tumor biology enabled us to replace some of the previously used extensive and mutilating surgical procedures by minor surgical interventions combined with irradiation and systemic therapy. Thus organ preservation associated with better quality of life is possible in substantial number of cancer patients without jeopardising their survival.
Despite the great advances in the field of combined cancer treatment using organ-sparing approach, a number of questions remain unresolved, such as those related to the optimal combination and sequence of individual treatment modalities, immediate and late sequelae of treatment, spared organ function, and many others.
Considering the great interest of medical profession in combined, organ-sparing oriented treatment, we have decided to organize an international symposium of the Alps-Adriatic community on organ sparing treatment in oncology. The contributions presented at this meeting, prove that this kind of treatment approach has also found its place in this part of the world.
Our first idea was to have the contributions published in a "Book of Proceedings". Later on, however, we accepted the kind offer of the editors of "Radiology and Oncology" journal to have the materials published in one of their regular issues. Due to the time pressure we took the liberty of making some editorial changes on the manuscripts in order to adjust them as closely as possible to the journal's requirements. The authors have been consulted personally only in the cases when the occasional error in the original was of such nature that only the author himself could correct it. However, in spite of all our efforts, the journal's requirements often could not be met, but the Editorial Board of Radiology and Oncology kindly decided to overlook those inconsistencies, for which we feel very obliged.
We wish to thank the authors for their interesting papers and ideas contributed to the topic discussed. We should also appreciate their consent to the editorial changes that had to be made in their manuscripts. Thanks are due to all the invited speakers for their valuable papers. And last but not least, we want to thank our two language proof-readers and to the staff of our special library for their editorial work.
Tanja Čufer, Marjan Budihna