In July 1979, the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Bologna received a proposal from Professor Breccia to hold an International Conference on "Nitroimidazoles: Chemistry, Pharmacology and Clinical Application." Because of the great interest in these drugs in various fields, I was very pleased to accept the proposal and to give the conference the sponsorship of the University of Bologna. It was an added pleasure to accept the chairmanship of the meeting, together with Professors Sensi and Adams. At the same time, the Minister of Education approved a proposal which also came from the Faculty of Pharmacy, to offer an advanced course on the topic "Radiosensitizers of Hypoxic Cells This course was subsequently approved by a special Committee of the NATO Scientific Programme as an Advanced Study Institute. Since the subject matter of both the conference and the course are closely inter-related, it was logical to plan the conference as part of the overall course. Bringing together specialists from quite different and apparently unrelated fields of research, but all with an interest in the study and application of one single group of drugs, is a novel idea with intriguing possibilities. The volumes of the proceedings include contributions from experts with such diverse interests as synthetic chemistry, mechanism of drug action, parasitology, anaerobic bacteria and protozoa, pharmacology and toxicology, radiation sensitizers for use in radiotherapy, and the development of drugs for use in cancer in general.

Inhalt
The Chemistry of Nitroimidazole Hypoxic Cell Radiosensitizers.- Molecular Structure and Biological Activity of Hypoxic Cell Radiosensitizers and Hypoxic-Specific Cytotoxins.- Physico-Chemical Methods for Investigating Mechanisms of Radiosensitization.- Radiation-Induced and Metabolism-Induced Reactions of Hypoxic Sensitizers with Cellular Molecules.- Radiation-Induced Cellular DNA Damage and Repair, and the Effect of Hypoxic Cell Radiosensitizers.- Biological Methods for Studying Radiosensitization.- Lipophilicity and the Pharmacokinetics of Nitroimidazoles.- Pharmacokinetic Studies on Some Novel (2-nitro-1-imidazolyl) Propanolamine Radiosensitizers.- The Effect of Dexamethasone on the Neurotoxicity of Nitroimidazole Compounds.- Radiosensitizers with Hyperfractionation in Radiotherapy.- The Design of Clinical Trials and Clinical Toxicology of the Nitroimidazole Misonidazole in Phase I Testing in the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group.- Misonidazole Clinical Trials in the United States Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG).- Misonidazole and Desmethylmisonidazole in Clinical Radiotherapy.- Prospects for New Hypoxic Cell Radiosensitizers.- Round Table on Clinical Sensitizer Research in Italy: Clinical Experiments with Radiosensitizing Drugs in Italy.- Multiple Daily Fractionation (MDF) in Association with Misonidazole (MIS): A Two-Year Experience with Head and Neck Cancer.- Clinical Trials and Preliminary Results Obtained by Association of Electroaffinic Hypoxic Cell Radiosensitizing Drugs (Misonidazole and Metronidazole) with Radiotherapy (Telecobalt Therapy) for the Treatment of Some Types of Neoplastic Diseases at a Locally Advanced Stage.- Control of the Immunological Status of Neoplastic Patients undergoing Telecobalt Therapy in Association with Radiosensitizers.- The Association of Radiotherapy with Radiosensitizing Drugs in the Treatment of Soft Tissue Sarcomas (Preliminary Studies).- List of Participants.