aging. It was therefore proposed that the next Jerusalem Symposium on Cancer could provide the appropriate forum for the study on the Interrelationship among cancer. aging and differentiation. The Impressive advances In our knowledge of the nature of the genome through molecular genetic and physical chemical techniques have now provided the opportunity to examine the Interrelationships between these complex biolo­ gical processes. Through the Isolation. cloning and rearranging of genes we are able to dissect and manipulate the genome In a fashion that was unanticipated only a decade ago. At the same time. the Increase In longevity and the Increased numbers of Individuals entering the last decades of life where cancer Incidences are highest raise the profound and practical question of whether aging and cancer are linked through common mechanisms.