Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma K O'Byrne & V Rusch Oxford University Press 978-0-19-852930-9 2006 Hardback GBP 110.00 NUMBER PAGES etc:
This book is a comprehensive overview of all aspects of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Within 464 pages the reader is led through every detail.
The first two chapters are dedicated to aethiology and epidemiology, focusing on asbestos-induced carcinogenesis and asbestos exposure around the world.
Diagnostic and staging procedures are the main topics of the third chapter followed by a detailed description of all known pathological features of MPM. Host and tumour related prognostic factors are discussed extensively before six chapters about biology and genetics.
The treatment of MPM was previously mainly palliative, but careful staging and aggressive multi-modality approaches have resulted in a relatively high fraction of long-term survivors among patients with low disease stages. This recent development of regimens combining surgery, chemo-, and radiotherapy is excellently described in four chapters along with an account of treatment options for more advanced stages.
Experimental treatment modalities used in MPM is the subject of several chapters and one chapter focuses on supportive care and palliation. The last chapter is dedicated to legal aspects of asbestos exposure in the USA and UK.
More than 50 authors contributed to the 21 exhaustive chapters to ascertain that nothing has been left out. Due to the many contributors there are several repetitions that make large parts of the book redundant if the book is read from cover to cover. As a reference, however, it is highly recommendable and indispensable for everybody working with MPM in a clinical or experimental setting. CLAUS ANDRUP KRISTENSEN The Finsen Centre Rigshospitalet Copenhagen