Ross Pinkerton, AG Shankar & Katherine Matthay. Blackwell Publishing, BMJI Books, 2007, IX + 565 pp. ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-4268-7 GBP 115.-
The book is divided into three parts: Solid Tumors, containing ten chapters, according to the type of tumor; Leukemia, including three chapters each dealing with acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, respectively; and Supportive Care in Pediatric Oncology, discussing use of hemopoetic colony stimulating factors and cardioprotection in pediatric oncology. The third part is new compared to the 1st edition in 2002.
Each chapter starts with the commentary by one or two experts in the field and continues with the summaries of the relevant randomized trials. This approach gives the possibility to get easy access to the background material and at the same time to be informed of what are the major conclusions from the presented studies and what questions should be explored in the future.
The book is comprehensive, up to-date and well written. There are, however, some items which could be improved in the next edition, which undoubtedly will come. Some commentaries have extensive references, while others are lacking them totally. This is a pity, because the reader is devoid an easy way to get acquainted with the important non-randomized studies mentioned in the otherwise excellent commentary. It is not always easy to follow the rationale of the order of presentation of the studies in different chapters. Some studies are presented in such detail that it renders them difficult to read in the context of the chapter.
Evidenced-based pediatric oncology has its given place in all the pediatric oncology departments beside the standard textbooks. It should be of interest not only for those designing or running clinical trials but also for the students and physicians in training, illustrating the long way of “trials and errors” behind the success story of pediatric oncology. Stanislaw Garwicz Pediatric Oncology-Hematology University of Lund, Sweden