Dear Reader,

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare but highly malignant disease. Although it is not officially accepted as an orphan disease, its low incidence imposes significant difficulties to physicians confronted with affected patients.

To date, no uniform curative treatment strategy has been identified and the search for better treatment options remains an important challenge.

In view of this background, a group of Austrian physicians assembled several years ago with the intention of forming the so-called Austrian Mesothelioma Interest Group (AMIG). The goal of this group was to collect data on patients with MPM in Austria, with the perspective of better describing the incidence, treatment mode, and outcome of this disease. With very few exceptions, all larger pulmonology departments and many other smaller units in Austria have contributed to this project. Regular meetings were held by the group over the years, which aimed to review the available data, to intensify the dialogue, to increase knowledge about recent developments, and to raise awareness in general.

In the following trilogy of publications, the most important aspects of MPM are summarized. Part 1 describes the epidemiology, diagnosis, and staging. Part 2 overviews the therapeutic approaches currently available. Finally, Part 3 represents a summary of the data that have been collected by the AMIG during the last few years.

With this series of papers, the AMIG members hope to contribute to the improvement of the situation of MPM patients in Austria.

Table 1