H. William Strauss, Giuliano Mariani, Duccio Volterrani, Steven M. Larson (editors): Nuclear Oncology: From Pathophysiology to Clinical Applications, second edition

Abstract

A large number of international experts, working in leading Institutions in many different countries, also contributed to this edition. The basic structure of the first edition has substantially been maintained in this edition, although all the chapters have been updated because of the rapid and significant technological and methodological advances that have occurred in the last few years. In this regard, this edition includes advances in tumour biology, the introduction of new molecular targets, the possible clinical role of many new radiotracers, and the contribution from im-provements in the performance of instruments. There are three main reasons for the publication of a second edition only 4 years after the first. First, the text has been expand-ed to include more detailed information on specific procedures (e.g. radioguided surgery) that are not so widely discussed in the previous edition. Second, the number of clinical cases has been increased to 170 to provide a broader range of examples reflecting the clinical variety of findings. In this context, the improved quality and extent of the information obtainable may also be understood by the presence of 992 figures and 166 tables, many of which are new to this edition. However, the most im-portant change is related to the availability of this new publica-tion on Springer's electronic platform that allows regular update of the content of the chapters so that the information is always up to date. The book extensively describes the role of nuclear med-icine and molecular imaging in the diagnosis and therapy of cancer patients in the light of novel emerging knowledge. Great effort has been made to include all the advances in understanding tumour biology, with a huge number of novel molecular probes, targeted medical therapies and radiotherapies. The book is structured into seven parts: part I consists of 13 chapters on basic science, part II consists of 26 chapters that address the role of imaging in the diagnosis and staging in spe-cific types of cancer, part III consists of seven chapters that ad-dress radionuclide therapy for specific neoplasms, part IV con-sists of four chapters on specific applications of radioguided surgery, part V describes the detection and management of heart disease in the cancer patient, part VI presents adverse effects of cancer therapy, and part VII consists of 25 chapters of cases. The book is of high quality, is well written, and is also easily understandable in its discussion of difficult issues. The book is mainly addressed to specialists in imaging, radio-therapy, cancer surgery, and oncology, but also to students and residents interested in the topic. More generally, this book may also be helpful to all professionals interested in oncology, including practitioners, who may obtain a better understand of the clinical indications for nuclear oncology. For all the reasons above, we warmly recommend this book due to the high value of the contributions, which will be reg-ularly updated to take account of future developments.