The last two decades have brought significant improvements in cancer therapy: patients with previously fatal diseases, including acute leukaemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and germ cell tumours, now have a high expectation of cure. For patients with the more common solid tumours, including lung, colon, and breast cancer, new chemotherapeutic and hormonal agents, molecularly targeted drugs, and monoclonal antibodies have improved treatment of both early and late stage disease and have extended survival. Nevertheless, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the Western world, and nearly one third of patients diagnosed with cancer will die of their disease....