Oncology: An Evidence-Based Approach
http://www.100md.com
《新英格兰医药杂志》
This text — which weighs almost 9 lb, contains approximately the same number of pages as its first edition, and includes 113 chapters from more than 250 contributors — has the physical gravitas of a worthy scholarly tome. However, in this age of high-speed interconnected information systems, regularly updated on-line references (even the venerable Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine has undergone a high-tech makeover), and personal digital assistants and other handheld personal computers, a new textbook must do more than aim to present a "unified approach that categorizes and summarizes the evidence that is currently available." By the time textbooks such as this one are edited, collated, and published, much of the content may well be out of date — particularly in a field that, as this book's editors themselves acknowledge, is evolving "faster than all other medical fields."
From the outset, Oncology is a different textbook on the subject. It opens not with the expected chapters on the basic science of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical oncology, but with an introduction to an evidence-based approach to oncology. Both "new" areas in oncology (such as stem-cell transplantation, resources for cancer informatics, the economics of cancer care, and patient decision making) and traditional areas (such as the science of biologic agents and traditional chemotherapy drugs) receive a similar emphasis.
Section 4, entitled "Cancer Imaging," and section 8, entitled "Cancer Survivorship," are two highlights of this book. The chapters in section 4 include high-resolution images and an informative discussion of positron-emission tomographic scanning. Section 8 details the medical and psychosocial issues of cancer survivors. Nevertheless, the focus of the book does not shift from its core topic — oncology — and sections 5, 6, and 7 (entitled "Solid Tumors," "Hematologic Malignancies," and "Practice of Oncology," respectively) include in-depth material on this subject. The text and tables in the section on solid tumors present a comprehensive (though at times dry) summary of the available evidence. The small (only 136 pages) section on hematologic malignancies is a delight, yet like the section on solid tumors that precedes it, in some areas it lacks a concise overview of the current thinking on management.
A textbook of this size, with many contributors and chapters, can suffer from too much brevity with regard to some subjects and a lack of consistency in the presentation of closely related chapters. This inconsistency may leave the reader searching randomly for the answers to specific queries. Nevertheless, my impression of this book overall is highly favorable — it provides comprehensive coverage of the basics, with extensive information about new areas. Future editions may benefit from more editorial control. Although this textbook is not something to pick up on a quiet evening (mainly because of its hefty weight), oncologists will enjoy exploring it in their leisure time.
Robyn Ward, M.D., Ph.D.
University of New South Wales
2010 Sydney, Australia
robyn@unsw.edu.au(Edited by Alfred E. Chang)
From the outset, Oncology is a different textbook on the subject. It opens not with the expected chapters on the basic science of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical oncology, but with an introduction to an evidence-based approach to oncology. Both "new" areas in oncology (such as stem-cell transplantation, resources for cancer informatics, the economics of cancer care, and patient decision making) and traditional areas (such as the science of biologic agents and traditional chemotherapy drugs) receive a similar emphasis.
Section 4, entitled "Cancer Imaging," and section 8, entitled "Cancer Survivorship," are two highlights of this book. The chapters in section 4 include high-resolution images and an informative discussion of positron-emission tomographic scanning. Section 8 details the medical and psychosocial issues of cancer survivors. Nevertheless, the focus of the book does not shift from its core topic — oncology — and sections 5, 6, and 7 (entitled "Solid Tumors," "Hematologic Malignancies," and "Practice of Oncology," respectively) include in-depth material on this subject. The text and tables in the section on solid tumors present a comprehensive (though at times dry) summary of the available evidence. The small (only 136 pages) section on hematologic malignancies is a delight, yet like the section on solid tumors that precedes it, in some areas it lacks a concise overview of the current thinking on management.
A textbook of this size, with many contributors and chapters, can suffer from too much brevity with regard to some subjects and a lack of consistency in the presentation of closely related chapters. This inconsistency may leave the reader searching randomly for the answers to specific queries. Nevertheless, my impression of this book overall is highly favorable — it provides comprehensive coverage of the basics, with extensive information about new areas. Future editions may benefit from more editorial control. Although this textbook is not something to pick up on a quiet evening (mainly because of its hefty weight), oncologists will enjoy exploring it in their leisure time.
Robyn Ward, M.D., Ph.D.
University of New South Wales
2010 Sydney, Australia
robyn@unsw.edu.au(Edited by Alfred E. Chang)