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Book Reviews J. G. Sinkovics Medical Oncology – an Advanced Course A Self-Assessment Guide for Subspecialty Board Examinations and Practice Dekker, New York 1979. 679 pp.; sFr. 100.-ISBN 0-8247-6863-9 The author of this book is Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas System Cancer Center. His broad teaching experience enabled him to write a textbook for fellows and residents preparing themselves for subspecialty board examination of medical oncology. The book is a unique and highly successful attempt to yield hardcore advances from the most recent literature on neoplastic diseases. As such, it is based on 8,000 original publications derived from more than 400 scientific reviews and journals. It does not deal with basic information which could easily be found in textbooks. As the author stresses in the preface, for the sake of brevity, the style is often telegraphic. Contradictory data have been listed in order to stimulate the reader to study the original articles and to direct his attention to the current views related to newly emerging topics. The book is divided into six parts. The first chapter is devoted to the hemopoietic malignancies. In this part of the book modern concepts in leukemia research as well as diagnostic and therapeutic advances in the management of patients with hemoblastoses can be found. Immunology of leukemias and lymphomas is one of the major issues discussed. The second chapter deals with the diagnosis and treatment of mesenchymal solid tumors. It is obvious that the author is not only compiling the most recent knowledge on this relatively rare malignancies. But also being an expert in this field and author of many important publications gives his own personal opinion on the up-to-date management of these diseases. Part three summarizes present knowledge accumulated in the treatment of neuroectodermal and neurogenic tumors. Here again, pigment cell tumors and tumors of the central nervous system are carefully analyzed, based on the vast experience of the author. Part four is the chapter in which carcinomas as the most common forms of neoplastic diseases are discussed on more than 240 pages. The information gathered in this section of the book are all relevant to the goal of the author: namely to omit basic information and to teach the reader how to evaluate recent progress gained from numerous information sources. Part five is a summary of therapeutic procedures. The description of chemotherapeutic agents and hormones as well as principles and practice of chemotherapy are to be found. A critical assessment of immunotherapy is also presented. Supportive care is discussed in details. How to overcome infectious complications is the topic of further elaborations. The author, an experienced microbiologist, greatly assists to the everyday physician by explaining benefits and risks of antibiotic therapy. Part six devotes special attention. For the purpose of selfassessment a list of true and false statements, multiple-choice questions, matching problems, and patient-oriented problems are enclosed. Those who are capable to give the correct answer to these problems will be surely well equipped with up-to-date knowledge when treating the cancer patient. This book can not only be highly recommended to fellows and residents who prepare themselves for a subspecialty board examina-