It is now seven years since the first edition of this book was published and during that time there have been major changes in the non-surgical management of patients with cancer with new systemic treatments and new radiation technology becoming more widely available. We have reflected these changes by thoroughly updating all the topics. The aim of the book remains the same – to provide all health professionals training in cancer-related specialties with succinct, up-to-date summaries of current practice.

As before, the book starts with introductory chapters covering generic topics such as chemotherapy, biological and hormone treatments, radiotherapy planning, research and palliative care. We have added new generic chapters on pathology and advanced external beam radiotherapy to reflect recent developments in these areas. The chapters on oncological emergencies and cancer of unknown primary have been placed together to recognise the developing concept of acute oncology. After the generic topics, the chapters each address the management of specific tumour types. The topics on the use of radiotherapy in benign diseases have been incorporated within these chapters. As with all textbooks of this type, there is a limit to the amount of detailed information that can be included and, in particular, topics in which there is rapid change or active research may become dated quite quickly. We have asked the authors to flag up important current clinical trials and potential new developments. There is a series of multiple choice questions at the end of the book. For readers who wish to test their knowledge, further multiple choice questions set at the level of the Final FRCR examination can be found in Oncopaedia (www.oncopaedia.com/ accessed February 2015).

Although the book is still firmly rooted in the revision course run at Velindre Hospital in Cardiff for trainees taking the Final FRCR examination and reflecting contemporary clinical practice in the UK, we hope that it will still be informative for those from other specialties and from other countries. We hope you will enjoy reading and learning from this new edition.