Advances in the treatment of cancer have continued at an intense pace over the 25 years since the Handbook of Cancer Chemotherapy was first published in 1982. This is reflected in the expansion of the list of clinically useful antineoplastic drugs from 43 to over 115 and the growth of the Handbook from 280 pages to over 750 pages with the current edition. While the number and benefit of cytotoxic agents has continued to grow over this time, the greatest change has been the development and demonstrated efficacy of a new class of systemic treatments called molecular targeted therapy, which has resulted from the wealth of biologic discoveries and insights into the etiology and behavior of cancer that have taken place over the last quarter century. Although the ultimate role that these new agents will play in the control of cancer remains to be seen, they have clearly changed the face of cancer treatment and will undoubtedly become more dominant in cancer treatment over the next decade. For this reason, we have expanded the coverage of these agents in the discussion of the biologic and pharmacologic basis for chemotherapy, in the description of characteristics and use of chemotherapeutic and biologic agents, and in the chapters on the treatment of individual cancers.

 

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