Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology

Abstract

A fresh text on general aspects of cancer attempts a great deal: to be comprehensive, to be readable, to be current. The volume at hand seems to fill the bill reasonably well. Its three editors and its associate editors are generally recognized as outstanding workers and clinical researchers in the cancer field; in 49 chapters, the various human cancers are comprehensively analyzed in regard to diagnosis, historical background, etiology, epidemiology, pathology, and details of treatment and prognosis. Some rather "old-hat" topics such as lung cancer have a fresh approach with current material and bibliography. I was pleased to see a detailed section on supportive care of the patient, including nutrition, use of blood products, and management of pain. A short but interesting chapter discusses side effects of treatment—a subject of considerable interest to clinicians and primary care physicians who often must deal with patients and relatives in some misery. Rehabilitation,