This volume contains the proceedings of the First International Conference on Eicosanoids and Other Bioactive Lipids in Cancer and Radiation Injury held in Detroit, Michigan on October 11-14, 1989. The conference was unique in its forging of a link between the eicosanoid and lipid researchers in the disciplines of radiobiology and cancer. The diverse roles that eicosanoids and other bioactive lipids play in these biological phenomena, including the participation of lipid oxidation in conversion of procarcinogens, positive and negative modulation of tumor growth, immunomodulation, tissue injury, and yet protection and enhancement of cancer therapy, necessitated a scientific interaction to sort out and understand these complex and sometimes contradictory observations. The scope of this volume encompasses the complete range of eicosanoid studies in these two fields, beginning with discussions of improved means of detecting eicosanoids using radioimmunoassays, high performance liquid chromatography, and GC-mass spectrometry and including specialized assays of the enzyme system involved in the metabolism of the bioactive lipids. Studies on the mechanistic basis of bioactive lipids in carcinogenesis and radiation injury have been conducted in vitro in biochemical assays and cell culture, culminating in observations in vivo, including applications in the treatment of cancer patients.