Customer Reviews

Textbook of Radiation Oncology, 2e

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Excellent text covering all major tumors encountered in radiation oncology practice. Very good reviews of data and most importantly a recommendation.

I find it very useful for a beginner to have an overview of radiation oncology field. It is also a very useful reference when you have questions.

es una guia importante..

It will be interesting to see just how long radiological techniques will be used in cancer therapy in the twenty-first century. The role of genetics, particularly gene therapies are making some progress in the treatment of certain types of cancer. There have been some problems with gene therapies, these making the headlines in the major media. Therefore it is probably safe to assume that radiology will have a presence in cancer clinics in the coming decade.

It has certainly had a presence throughout the twentieth century, and this book is an indication of its vast use in cancer therapy. Those interested in radiology will find a comprehensive overview. My sole interest in the book was in gaining a background in the biology and physics behind radiation dose calculations in human tissue. Therefore I only read sections 1 and 3 (the latter discussing future modalities) instead of Section 2, which discusses clinical issues, and which are a major portion of the book.

Since the book is targeted towards readers who are medical students, physicians, or medical researchers, it is not surprising to find that the physics behind the interaction of radiation with human tissue is only done from a phenomenological perspective. A more in-depth discussion would perhaps not assist physicians in their administration of radiation dose to a patient. The authors do a fine job of relating to the reader what is going on physically when X-rays and particles such as protons, electrons, or heavy ions interact with matter. They also discuss just how to determine the dose delivered to the patient and the dosimetric techniques that are used. A more thorough discussion of the interaction of radiation and particle beams with matter would involve techniques from quantum field theory, bringing the book out of the range of the average medical student. Actually though, in spite of the importance of techniques such as Monte Carlo simulations in determining dose distribution (which the authors discuss briefly), and the role of elementary particle events in these simulations, the literature on radiology physics does not usually approach dose calculation from this fundamental level.

The authors take a look at the future of cancer therapies in the last part of the book, and the discussion is fascinating. Some of the areas they discuss are particle radiation therapy involving proton and neutron beams. They discuss the differences from a physical standpoint in the use of these beams as compared to the usual beam modalities. Another area they discuss are gene therapies, and although brief, the authors give the reader an idea of just how this technology works.

Looking further into the future, and this is justified by the current incredible rate of technological advancement, one can only wonder what new techniques will be discovered in cancer therapy and prevention. Further improvements in gene therapy using techniques from genetic engineering comes to mind. Another possibility is nanotechnology. This is an exotic possibility at the present time, but there is every indication that nanotechnology will reach fruition by the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century. Its medical ramifications are awesome.