This issue of Medical and Pediatric Oncology contains the first of a set of feature articles that will appear from time to time in its pages. These will include a series to be entitled ''Topical Topics'' that will provide readers with succinct reviews of recent advances in laboratory, clinical, and epidemiologic research. Another set will be titled ''Cancer Controversies,'' in which authorities will present the pros and cons of debatable issues that practicing physicians or laboratory scientists confront frequently on a daily basis. Another group of articles will be a continuation of the publication of incidental items of more general interest, such as short biographies (''Silhouettes'') of important figures in oncology. The general heading ''Annals and Chronicles'' therefore seems appropriate for this feature.
The pages of Medical and Pediatric Oncology also provide an excellent forum for the publication of studies concerning the etiology and epidemiology of cancer, and articles dealing with these issues continue to be welcome. Recent examples are the several papers presented at the Second International Conference on Molecular and Clinical Genetics of Childhood Renal Tumors. They are to be found in Medical and Pediatric Oncology, volume 27, number 5 (November 1996).
To further the dissemination of such knowledge, this issue contains the first of what will also be a regular feature entitled ''Childhood Cancer Etiology: Recent Reports.'' Special arrangements with the Children's Cancer Research Fund Epidemiology Research Unit of the University of Minnesota has made this possible. The