This issue of the Thoracic Surgery Clinics is devoted to basic science issues for the thoracic surgeon. The goal of this issue is the presentation of topics across the spectrum of thoracic surgery, focusing on fundamental basic scientific developments. The articles will address the topics of staging, chemotherapy, mechanisms of therapy, targeted therapy, and gene therapy, as they apply to Barretts esophagus, esophageal cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma, and lung transplantation.