SOS - an Oncology site through the third millenium

The SOS Server owes its name to the telematics service originally created in 1994 to assist the European cancer research community, the Sustaining Oncology Studies Europe Information Resource - SOS Europe. Since then, the scope of services offered by SOS has evolved, reaching the point that, as with the multifaceted discipline of oncology itself, it has now developed into clearinghouse of valuable information for bench researchers, clinicians, nurses, welfare workers and administrative personnel, be they strictly dedicated to oncology or related biomedical disciplines. The SOS Server is structured into two distinct, yet complementary and interlaced, sites: SOS Europe which, as mentioned, aims to fullfil cancer information retrieval needs on a global scale, and its "sister" site, SOS Italia which, although mirroring to a great extent its counterpart, is more than a mere translation of SOS Europe. Indeed, SOS Italia - in concert with the Network of Italian Comprehensive Cancer Centers is currently pending evaluation by the Italian Ministry of Health for formal recognition as FOCAL POINT for the coordination of WWW-based information and services of relevance to the Italian cancer research community.