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).

A protocol for the pathologic examination and reporting of specimens from patients with gastric carcinoma has been developed by the Cancer Committee of the College of American Pathologists and a multidisciplinary task force of specialists dealing with patients with gastric carcinoma. The protocol incorporates all basic pathology data of diagnostic and prognostic significance appropriate for the treatment of patients with gastric carcinoma. The purpose of the protocol is to serve as a basis for the development of checklists, as on outline for full narrative reporting, as a basis for research protocols, or as a guide for other types of synoptic or reporting formats. The protocol is stratified to accommodate the surgical procedures usually employed for gastric carcinomas, including acquisition of cytologic specimens, incisional endoscopic biopsy, excisional biopsy, and gastric resection (partial or complete). Explanatory notes detailing specific procedures and rationales for documentation of specific pathologic data are included in the protocol. The protocol uses the staging system for gastric carcinoma defined by the American Joint Committee on Cancer and the International Union Against Cancer.

The Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology have developed recommendations for the surgical pathology reporting of common malignant tumors. The recommendations for carcinoma of the larynx are reported herein.

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

1) What is the role of different schedules or doses of radiotherapy in patients with unresected, clinical or pathological, stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)? 2) Does chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy provide improved survival compared with radiotherapy alone in patients with unresected NSCLC?

1) Should breast irradiation be given to women with early stage invasive breast cancer (stage I and II) following breast conservation surgery (lumpectomy with clear resection margins and axillary dissection)? 2) Is there an optimal schedule for breast irradiation? 3) What is a reasonable interval between definitive surgery and the start of breast irradiation? 4) Are there patients who can be spared breast irradiation after lumpectomy?