Tumors and cancers are insidious diseases characterized by an abnormal growth of cells that extend beyond their usual boundaries and disrupt the normal functions of affected organs. Forming the first of the four volumes devoted to tumors and cancers, this volume focuses on the central and peripheral nervous systems. Each chapter presents a state of the art summary of tumor/cancer of a particular type in relation to its definition, biology, epidemiology, disease mechanism/pathogenesis, clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

Dongyou Liu, Ph.D., studied veterinary science at Hunan Agricultural University, China and undertook postgraduate training at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Over the past two decades, he has worked at several research and clinical laboratories in Australia and the United States of America, with focuses on molecular characterization and virulence determination of microbial pathogens such as ovine footrot bacterium (Dichelobacter nodosus), dermatophyte fungi (Trichophyton, Microsporum and Epidermophyton ) and listeriae (Listeria species), as well as development of nucleic acid-based quality assurance models for security sensitive and emerging viral pathogens. Additionally, during the period of 1995-2001, he established and performed molecular tests at clinical laboratories for a range of human genetic disorders and cancers, including BRCA1, BRCA2, c-kit, B-/Tcell receptor gene rearrangements, t (11,14) chromosomal translocation, k-ras, fragile X syndrome, factor V Leiden, hemochromatosis and prothrombin mutations. He is the primary author of >50 original research and review articles in various international journals, the contributor of 176 book chapters, and the editor of "Handbook of Listeria monocytogenes" (2008), "Handbook of Nucleic Acid Purification" (2009), "Molecular Detection of Foodborne Pathogens" (2009), "Molecular Detection of Human Viral Pathogens" (2010), "Molecular Detection of Human Bacterial Pathogens" (2011), "Molecular Detection of Human Fungal Pathogens" (2011), "Molecular Detection of Human Parasitic Pathogens" (2012), "Manual of Security Sensitive Microbes and Toxins" (2014), "Molecular Detection of Animal Viral Pathogens" (2016), and "Laboratory Models for Foodborne Infections" (2017), all of which were released by CRC Press. He is also a co-editor for "Molecular Medical Microbiology 2nd Edition", which was published by Elsevier in 2014.