A major goal in the fight against cancer is the reduction of cancer mortality rates. This can only be achieved in one of two ways: reducing incidence rates, and increasing the chances of cure. The chances of cancer being cured can be estimated from the probability of survival. Measures of incidence, survival and mortality are critical to the interpretation of data on progress in the fight against cancer, and in the evaluation of the overall effectiveness of cancer control programmes. The present volume includes survival comparisons based on data from 40 populations in 17 European countries and shows important differences, both between countries and over time. The differences revealed between populations will help European countries to establish reasonable and attainable goals for cancer diagnosis and treatment. National health authorities will wish to promote further research in order to understand full y the reasons for differences in survival so that suitable action may be taken to correct them.