High-profile laboratory scientists and basic cancer researchers review those recent and future clinical laboratory tests that can help in the early detection, evaluation, and prediction of human tumors, and so permit more informed therapeutic decisions. Emphasizing the importance of molecular and genetic RNA/DNA tests that can detect persons at high risk for specific cancers, the authors explore these novel serological assays, cellular assays useful for anatomic pathology, and molecular and genetic assays. Highlights include a profile of genetic tests for the diagnosis of colon, lung, and pancreatic cancers and a discussion of the molecular microsatellite instability that is observed in many cancers and permits the diagnosis of particular cancers. Informative and state-of-the-art, Cancer Diagnostics: Current and Future Trends illuminates coming future developments and tests for cancer diagnosis and monitoring, and make clear that early diagnosis and detection of cancer will become a reality in the future.