Diagnosis, concepts of therapy and prognosis of primary malignant bone tumors require intensive cooperation between orthopedic surgeons, radiologists and pathologists with special knowledge in oncology. The present paper demonstrates relevant topics of diagnosis, radiological appearance and therapy of the osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, chondrosarcoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma based on the material of the Vienna Bone Tumor Registry and more than 35 years of cooperation between the Institute of Pathology and Anatomy and the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Vienna.

To define preliminary guidelines for the use of lymphatic mapping techniques in patients with breast cancer.

The Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology have developed recommendations for the surgical pathology report for common malignant tumors. The recommendations for cutaneous melanoma are reported herein.

The Ministry of Health and the Cancer Society of New Zealand invited a working group to review the 1991 recommendations on cervical screening. No major changes have been suggested but minor modifications have been made with regard to recent literature. All women who have ever had intercourse should be offered a three yearly cervical smear test from age 20 to age 69. If it is a woman's first smear or there is a gap of five or more years since her last one, the second smear should be taken in one year's time. Women who have had a hysterectomy for a benign condition, with complete removal of histologically normal cervical epithelium and a normal smear history, do not require further screening. Women who are immunocompromised may require more frequent screening. The cervical smear will be part of the investigation of women with signs and symptoms of cervical cancer. It is not sufficiently sensitive, however, for a negative result to override clinical concern. Such women should be referred for gynaecological assessment irrespective of the smear result.

Consensus was recently reached in the Netherlands regarding the clinical management of dysplastic naevi and the definitions in clinical and pathological diagnostics. The term 'dysplastic' is reserved for histological diagnostics; the term preferred for clinical use is 'clinically atypical naevus'. A naevus is defined as clinically atypical if it meets three of the following five criteria: > or = 5 mm in diameter, vaguely bordered, asymmetrically shaped, irregularly pigmented and a red hue (erythema). Presence of clinically atypical naevi is a main risk factor for melanoma. Dysplastic naevus syndrome (DNS) is present if a patient has a melanoma and one or several clinically atypical naevi. The diagnosis of 'familial DNS' (familial atypical multiple mole-melanoma syndrome, abbreviation FAMMM syndrome) is made if at least two close relatives (including the patient) are known with a melanoma with or without atypical naevi, while one or several (other) relatives have atypical naevi. The risk of melanoma in a gene carrier of familial DNS is close to 100%, while multiple melanomas develop in 30% of the gene carriers. No DNA diagnostics is yet possible in most DNS/FAMMM families, because of the involvement of genes yet unknown. Accordingly, at present it is still too early for DNA diagnostics. Currently, therefore, the diagnosis is based only on anamnestic, clinical and histological grounds.

A sufficient body of knowledge has developed about ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast to warrant a separate report on standards of care for women with this disease. This consensus report by these four organizations discusses evaluation of the patient, selection of treatment, technical aspects of diagnostic biopsy and definitive local excision, pathologic evaluation, radiation therapy considerations, follow-up care recommendations, and questions for future research.

Because knowledge has advanced in several fields related to the treatment of early breast cancer, revising the landmark 1992 standards for breast-conservation treatment by these four organizations is appropriate. The current report reviews and summarizes the literature and describes the selection and evaluation of patients, the technical aspects of surgical treatment and irradiation, follow-up care, and areas for further research.

To help physicians and their patients arrive at optimal strategies for breast radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for early breast cancer.

To provide information needed by patients with breast cancer (stages I and II) and their physicians when deciding whether axillary dissection should be carried out.

To assist women and their physicians in making the most clinically effective and personally acceptable decision regarding the choice of primary surgery for potentially curable breast cancer.

To provide information and recommendations for assisting women and their physicians in making the decisions necessary to establish or exclude the presence of cancer when a lump is felt in the breast.

Classification of lymph node metastasis from gastric carcinoma was based on the localization (International Union Against Cancer/American Joint Committee on Cancer [UICC/AJCC] 1992). The authors analyzed the data of the German Gastric Cancer Study (GGCS) to determine whether the number of involved lymph nodes related to the prognosis independent of their anatomic localization (UICC/AJCC 1997).