Over the past 30 years many significant advances have been made in the management of a number of disseminated malignant diseases. The prognosis for diseases such as childhood leukaemia, choriocarcinoma and Hodgkin's disease has gradually been transformed as better anti tumour agents have become available and their clinical use has been refined. During the past 10 years the advent of new agents, particularly cisplatin, bleomycin and the podophyllotoxins,...