there are many excellent textbooks on general oncology. due to the enormous volume of the scientific knowledge, classic textbooks, however, have to master and squeeze all this into an acceptable number of pages. the result is that less frequently encountered tumorous conditions are not fully addressed compared with chapters on breast, bronchus and colonic cancers. the author has selected 18 cancers which are usually neglected in classic textbooks due to space and volume problems. reviewing the nevertheless extensive literature on these tumours, one will observe the remarkable diversity in their presentation, adding to the difficulties of their diagnosis. sometimes patients present differently to specialists, further dispersing the knowledge and the experience on these rare conditions. dedicated teams and even institutes have been set up to study some of these cancers, enlarging the knowledge and experience but also dramatically enhancing the treatment results and survival rates. this book is a guide for the oncology-minded specialist from cardiologist to gastro- enterologist and from ophthalmologist to thoracic surgeon. it provides updated knowledge on the different cancers discussed, generally dispersed in the still more diversifying medical literature, wherein it is progressively more difficult to obtain an overview, even in selected and frequently limited reviews.