Cancer of the Lung: From Molecular Biology to Treatment Guidelines
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* Helmut W. Unruh

CANCER OF THE LUNG: FROM MOLECULAR BIOLOGY TO TREATMENT GUIDELINES. Edited by Alan B. Weitberg. 354 pp. Humana Press Inc., Towota, NJ. 2001. US$125. ISBN 0-89603-830-0

This highly readable book is part of the Current Clinical Oncology series edited by Maurie Markman. The book consists of 14 chapters written by a distinguished group of experts in the field of lung cancer. Each chapter is concise, yet complete, in terms of providing the reader with an update of the current thinking and knowledge in each area of lung cancer. All chapters are highly referenced, and the references are current. This book will appeal to both academic and community- based practitioners who have an interest in lung cancer. As a surgeon, I found reading the chapters that are not particularly related to my own activity especially enlightening.

The book is divided into 2 parts. The first includes basic science and background knowledge; the second part covers treatment. The first section has an excellent treatise on the changing incidence of lung cancer. The section on pathologic features is also current and complete. This is followed by 2 chapters on the molecular biology, which I found particularly enjoyable. These chapters complement each other, and there is some repetition. The section on techniques of diagnosis discusses all the current controversies and puts them into a practical framework.

The second part of the book details the treatment with experimental agents from early stage to advanced stages of lung cancer. There is also an excellent chapter on the novel uses of radiotherapy in the treatment of carcinoma of the lung. Throughout this part of the book, there is a nice evolution from single-agent use to the present-day multimodality approach to the management of advanced lung cancer. There is some overlap in the chapters, especially those on the treatment of stage IV lung cancer and new treatments for advanced non-small cell lung cancer. However, the chapters are complementary and overall, this book is highly readable and fulfils its purpose. Because it is concise, a practitioner in one area can be quickly updated in other areas without being involved in the exhaustive review of the medical literature that this would usually require.