Malignant tumours constitute a particularly important group of diseases from the perspective of public healthcare. In developed countries, cancer is the second leading cause of death, following cardiovascular diseases. In Hungary, 28.7% of all deaths in 2014 was caused by cancer. Due to its importance in public healthcare, oncology cannot be omitted from general medical training. Starting with the academic year of 2018/19, Oncology is taught as a separate course, intended to serve a modern medical undergraduate training. An essential prerequisite for this was the publication of an oncology textbook that provides a comprehensive overview of the aetiology, epidemiology, diagnostics, and multidisciplinary treatment of oncological conditions, at the appropriate level and length for an undergraduate course. The authors of this textbook rely on students’ knowledge from their previous Pathology, Radiology, and Practice courses. As such, the text discusses histology, medical imaging, and surgical treatment only to the extent absolutely necessary for the understanding of the general principles of treatment. In contrast to this, the text discusses in detail the other two major anticancer treatment modalities – radiotherapy and drug treatments. The detailed Oncology and Radiotherapy section provides a comprehensive overview on the treatment of the most important solid malignancies. The intent of this is to enable future generations of physicians, independent of their specialisation, to recognise the clinical suspicion of the most common types of cancer, and direct patients to the appropriate specialists. It is also important for all doctors to have a basic understanding of the treatment options and prognosis of these diseases.

The authors of this text are the professors of the Department of Oncology at Semmelweis University and the chief physicians of the National Institute of Oncology, all of whom are eminent experts within their particular field of oncology and radiotherapy in Hungary. We believe that you, our students, will read this comprehensive textbook, illustrated with colour figures and tables and printed in the highest quality, with same level of satisfaction and enjoyment as the care with which it was written. We hope and believe that this text will serve not only our undergraduate students, but also our residents and specialist candidates in clinical oncology and radiotherapy.