background: previous studies indicate a high incidence of digestive cancers along southern parts of caspian sea including ma­zandaran province. the present study was conducted to further investigate time to occurrence, age distribution and pos­sible risks associated with the incidence time of digestive cancers in the above regions. methods: for this purpose the data of digestive cancer incidenc...

conclusions most patients are referred for restaging and demonstrate evidence of regional or distant metastasis with significant value for further treatment planning. providing insurance coverage and familiarizing referring physicians about appropriate indications of this relatively new diagnostic modality will be to the best interest of head and neck cancer patients in long term. methods we re...

xx Signed statement xxv Acknowledgements xxvi