A new issue of ESMO's scientific journal, Annals of Oncology, is now available. This informative, new supplement contains 35 of the most up-to-date Minimum Clinical Recommendations and is an excellent source of useful information.

ESMO Minimum Clinical Recommendations: May 2005; Vol. 16, Supplement No. 1 can be pre-viewed at: http://annonc.oupjournals.org/content/vol16/suppl_1/index.shtml?etoc.

Each of the recommendations provides vital, evidence-based information for physicians, including the incidence of the malignancy, diagnostic criteria, staging of disease and risk assessment, treatment plans and follow-up.

The recommendations are intended to provide the user with a set of requirements for a basic standard of care that ESMO would consider necessary in all countries of Europe.

They are not designed to replace extensive clinical practice guidelines or review articles, but to describe minimum common standards. Considering the rapid changes in the field of medical oncology, each guideline undergoes a yearly update.

"The Minimum Clinical Guidelines are an important expression of ESMO's mission to disseminate knowledge, in order to maintain a high common standard in medical practice for cancer patients," says Professor Rolf A. Stahel, chair of ESMO Guidelines Task Force.

"Firstly, the guidelines are a tool for clinicians to help them offer the best care to their patients on a daily basis. They also help support negotiations with politicians, administrators, and insurance companies regarding what level of care should be made availa
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Contact: Gracemarie Bricalli
communication@esmo.org
41-0-91-973-1911
European Society for Medical Oncology
20-May-2005