Medical Oncology: Basic Principles and Clinical Management of Cancer

Medical Oncology is designed to be a "single comprehensive source of information for the practitioner and trainee and to serve as a platform on which to build new information," say the editors in their preface. For the most part they have achieved their goal, for this is a well-organized, well-written text on medical oncology. The editors have assembled a group of contributors who are well known in their fields of endeavor and have written their assignments in a cogent, clear, and succinct manner. The text has three main parts: "Basic Principles," "Specific Neoplasms," and "Supportive Care." "Basic Principles" is the platform one needs to be conversant with in order to build new information. This major area is subdivided into sections on the biology, etiology, and systemic effects of cancer and principles of patient management and clinical evaluation of new cancer therapies. These sections are excellent but by their nature difficult