Covering the entirety of the treatment of cancer in one text would seem a rather ambitious undertaking. The fourth edition of this book manages to cover the basics of the subject, while

including updates on the newer developments in cancer treatment. While the content is mainly of relevance to the clinical oncologist, there is much that would appeal to doctors and the

allied professions working in other specialities, including medical oncology, palliative care medicine as well as general medical and surgical fields. The book is divided into three

sections. The first section is entitled Principles. Molecular biology and radiobiology are covered in detail, with reference to standard texts in use by the clinical oncologist preparing for

explained, including the concept of biologically effective dose (BED), along with the equations used and some worked examples. There is a chapter on the use of hyperthermia in the treatment

of cancer, this neatly summarises results of relevant trials. The principles of the use of chemotherapy and the development of drugs are explained concisely, incorporating simple but

effective diagrams. Throughout this book, the text is well laid out with clear headings, making it easy to find information. The visual illustrations are, on the whole, easy to interpret and

there are the obligatory selection of pictures of advanced malignancy to hold the readers' attention! The chapter on bioimmunotherapy is packed with information; however, it is

slightly overwhelming and may have benefited from diagrams to illustrate the salient points. Chapters on tumour imaging and interventional radiology would be of particular interest to the

nonradiologist. Understanding the uses and limitations of some of the techniques used in more depth should help the oncologist maintain a good relationship with their colleagues in

radiology! The explanation of positron emission tomography (PET) scanning and its clinical uses is excellent. The chapters on angiogenesis and gene therapy include enough detail to get a

flavour of these subjects, plus provide references for further reading. The second section of the book covers the management of the site-specific cancers, including the haematological

malignancies, cancer in childhood and AIDS-related cancer. Although on closer inspection, there does not seem to be a chapter dedicated to the management of renal tumours. Each chapter

covers the pathology of the tumour with reference to the staging and classification systems in use. Clinical presentation and the different techniques used in diagnosis and staging are

discussed. There is an up-to-date account of the treatment modalities that may be used in the treatment of each tumour type, whether that is surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or

combinations of these. The explanations of chemotherapy regimens appear to be evidence based, with useful references to key trials and papers. The planning and administration of radiotherapy

is explained in good detail, with sensible use of visual illustrations. When read with reference to the chapters in the last section on radiotherapy planning techniques and conformal

radiotherapy, this book stands as an ideal reference text for the trainee clinical oncologist. The chapters include management of recurrent and metastatic disease, as well as some of the

rarer tumours within each specific site. Apart from comprehensive coverage of nonsurgical management of cancers, surgical principles of management are included. Of particular note are the

general principles of surgery in head and neck cancer, and surgical approaches to treatment of liver tumours. There is an interesting chapter on gestational trophoblastic tumours. The

chapters on haematological malignancies, while perhaps not in-depth enough for the trainee haematologist, give a detailed insight for the oncologist or general physician. Each chapter

includes a short section on possible future directions for management and a highlighted box containing significant points that may be obtained from the chapter. There is also a box

containing key references and then an extensive list of further references. The third and final section is entitled management. This covers everything from symptom management to models of

care, organisation of cancer services and cost analysis of nonsurgical cancer treatments. There are chapters on symptom management and palliative care that give the reader a structured

overview. In addition, there are separate chapters on communication issues and the holistic approach to cancer. These encourage a balanced approach to cancer management when slotted in

between chapters on radiotherapy planning techniques. There is an excellent chapter on brachytherapy that manages to make the physics of the subject understandable and clinically relevant!

The structure of clinical trials and the process of randomisation are explained in an easy to follow format. There is a chapter dedicated to medical audit, which summarises the requirements

for a good audit. In summary, this is a comprehensive text on the treatment of cancer. By its very nature, as new developments in treatment occur, some sections will become out of date. It

is excellent as a standard text for the clinical oncologist, but also as a reference book for those working in other fields of medicine. CHANGE HISTORY * _ 16 NOVEMBER 2011 This paper was

modified 12 months after initial publication to switch to Creative Commons licence terms, as noted at publication _ AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * St James's University

Hospital, Leeds, UK Vanessa Gill Authors * Vanessa Gill View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Edited by P Price, M Leahy

and K SikoraPublisher: Edward Arnold, 2002. ISBN 0 340 75964 X £150 RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS From twelve months after its original publication, this work is licensed under the Creative

Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ Reprints and permissions ABOUT

THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Gill, V. Treatment of Cancer (4th edn). _Br J Cancer_ 88, 1659–1660 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6600964 Download citation * Published: 13 May 2003 *

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