内容简介：
Cancers of the digestive tract account for a large portion of all malignancies and colorectal cancer (CRC), the most common digestive tract cancer, is the second leading cause of cancer death in the Western world. Although a number of advances have been made in understanding the pathogenesis of the diseases and in developing new treatments, in particular for CRC patients, the mortality of GI cancers is still considerably high. Recent trends in medical and surgical oncology, gastroenterology and molecular pathology are of considerable interest in dealing with this problem. New models for the carcinogenesis of oesophageal cancer have been developed, potentially leading to new chemopreventive strategies for the disease. Helicobacter pylori has been identified as the leading cause of gastric lymphomatous as well as epithelial malignancies, alternative molecular pathways of colon cancer development have been identified and above all novel treatments have been found which target specific molecular alterations of malignant cells and thus significantly improve overall survival of GI cancer patients. This book, the proceedings of the Falk Symposium No. 149 on a Highlights in Gastrointestinal Oncologya (TM), held in Berlin, Germany, on 1--2 October 2005, provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in GI oncology. The outstanding contributions of world-leading experts in the various fields achieves an up-to-date analysis of the scientific data and also provides immediate applications for day-to-day clinical work. It is hoped that through a better understanding of the molecular alterations which lead to GI cancers, partly through using sophisticated new laboratory techniques, wewill be able to identify novel targets for prevention and treatment of the diseases. Among the various highlights of the book are chapters on animal models for GI cancers, on statistical models to compute polyp recurrence after polypectomies, and concepts for improving public awareness for GI cancers as well as basic science concepts about to enter clinical use.