[Prognosis in tumor diagnosis]

This essay on prognosis in tumor diagnosis pathology resp. tumor etiology, cancerogenesis and molecular oncology is the authors personal opinion. Generally tumor diagnosis improves with progress in histo- and cytological methods for example in tumors of the APUD-system and precancerous lesions especially of the breast. Fundamental principle of developed tumor diagnosis is the knowledge of malignant transformation. Its profits favours the etiology in cancerogenesis and e.g. non Hodgkin lymphomas (Burkitt lymphoma, adult T-cell lymphoma) and to result from new methods in molecular biology and viral genetics (DNS-hybridizing, -recombination and gene technology). With the beginning century a stepwise fitted diagnosis of malignant lymphomas is evident up to monoclonal dedifferentiated lymphoid cells and their multifarious phenotypical markers. This concept may be of general significance in tumor diagnosis already indicated in prelymphomas. Finally the present prognosis of tumor diagnosis is evaluated by contents, tasks and strategies of its corresponding research lines in clinical and experimental tumor pathology resp. its organization.