The late-1990s have been seen as a time of major advances in the understanding and treatment of endocrine neoplasms. The organization of this volume reflects both the organ-specific and more generalized aspects of endocrine tumourigenesis. Some chapters are focused on tumours of specific endocrine glands, for example, pituitary, para-thyroid, thyroid, and adrenal. More general themes in pathogenesis, diagnosis or treatment are also addressed, for example, in chapters on radiation-induced tumours, somatostatin analogs and receptors, persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy and paraneoplastic hypercalcemia. Finally, special issues of importance to the understanding and management of the familial endocrine tumour syndromes MEN-1 and MEN-2 are separately discussed.