W. Scheppach, R.S. Bresalier, G.N. Tytgat (eds): Gastrointestinal and liver tumors

Excerpt

As announced by the authors in their foreword, their book is a concise but complete overview of malignant diseases of the gastrointestinal system. The book is subdivided into tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract found in the stomach, esophagus and small bowel and tumors of the lower gastrointestinal tract found in the colon, rectum, and anal canal. Moreover, the book includes a description of tumors of the digestive glands in the pancreas, the hepatobiliary system and the liver as well as a chapter on neuroendocrine tumors and tumors of the major duodenal papilla. The appendix offers an excellent summary on the palliative supportive therapy of tumor patients. The individual clinical pictures in each chapter are subdivided into epidemiology, etiology and pathogenesis, symptoms and clinical signs, diagnostics, histological classification and molecular genetics, therapy, and future prospects. Each chapter contains a summary. The individual chapters are enhanced by a great number of figures in color and a systematic synopsis. Most of the chapters also include a TNM classification or UICC stages. A calculation aid at the end of the book demonstrates its practical use. Some of the very detailed illustrations and precise tables, as in the HNPCC chapter, add to the overall positive impression of the book. The book is primarily addressed to physicians/students in gastroenterology who want to read a current overview on tumors of the gastrointestinal tract presented in a concise form. Because of the relatively small number of just 334 pages, there is no detailed description of therapeutic measures. The discussion of surgical therapy, especially, is too limited in nearly all chapters. There is a clear discrepancy between conservative/palliative and curative/surgical therapy, especially in the chapters on the upper gastrointestinal tract. Typically, only six of the 46 authors came from surgical departments. Particularly inadequate is the description of surgical therapy of colorectal cancer. The authors not only fail to distinguish between colonic and rectal cancer but also omit any reference to total mesorectal excision or current reconstruction procedures. Moreover, they do not even discuss neoadjuvant therapy, which is becoming increasingly important. In the end, the above-mentioned practical value of the book has to be qualified in light of this criticism. Although the book offers a good overview of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of the diseases, it remains unconvincing with regard to the often complex and occasionally multimodal therapy of tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. …