In 2006, when my colleague Andrea Renda proposed multiple primary malignancies (MPM) as the subject of the Biennial Report to the 2008 Congress of the Italian - ciety of Surgery, I, together with the Steering Committee, quickly agreed. Recent progress in our understanding of the etiopathology of these neoplasms has led to - novative and significant progress on the clinical level. Importantly, the incidence of the onset of two or more tumors in the same patient suggests a more than casual - lationship. Furthermore, the occurrence of MPM derives from several different me- anisms—viral, iatrogenic, immunologic, environmental, and hereditary—such that any form of treatment must take into account the etiology of these tumors. After an epidemiological introduction, this monograph analyzes various aspects of multitumoral syndromes based on the experience of the Department of Surgical Sciences, along with that of other clinical departments of the University Federico II of Naples. In the discussion of inherited tumors, reference is made to the series of patients treated at the Department of Surgery at the University of Siena. The many topics that comprise this volume range from carcinogenesis to diagnostic strategies, and from epidemiology to innovations in imaging and endoscopic techniques. Among the clinical aspects, particular emphasis is given to sporadic and hereditary syndromes, as these patients are frequently treated by general surgery departments.
