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Herpes and papilloma viruses
197
DIAGN MICROBIOL INFECT DIS 1989;12:197
BOOK REVIEW Herpes and Papilloma Viruses, (Vol. 2). G. De Palo, F. Rilke, and H. zur Hausen (eds.), Raven Press, N e w York, 1988, 284 pp., $73.50 This volume is the second from Raven Press on the subject of herpes and papilloma viruses resulting from the Serono symposia. The book contains 22 chapters written by a distinguished group of scientists doing research related to these viruses. It emphasizes clinical and epidemiologic topics, but also contains five chapters that emphasize molecular biology and/or specific laboratory techniques. Some of the chapters related to clinical and epidemiologic topics and "Sexually Transmitted Diseases: An Overview of Clinical Manifestations and Long Term Sequelae of Herpesvirus and H u m a n Papillomavirus Infections," "Clinico-Pathologic Correlations of Papillomavirus-Related Lesions of the Lower Genital Tract," and "Treatment of Genital Herpes." Topics related to herpesviruses alone are the subject of only four chapters, while papillomavirus-related topics occupy 14 of the chapters. Many of the authors have taken the time to produce overviews of their topics rather than the research papers often encountered in books derived from meetings. The authors have done a good job of noting when statements are strongly supported, and when they are the subject of ongoing research. Researchers interested in a reasonable overview of papillomavirus-related topics could obtain it by reading the chapters concerned with papillomaviruses and those concerned with cancers of the lower genital tract. Researchers interested in the specific her-
pesvirus topics addressed will mostly find those chapters readable and complete. There should be more figures in some of the chapters. For example, the chapter on morphologic relationships between papillomavirus infections and various cancers would have been improved by some high-quality photographs. In contrast to the text, both figures and figure captions in many chapters should be more understandable. There is also deficiency in the subject index. For example, there is only one entry under cervical cancer epidemiology, even though there are numerous sections of text directly related to this topic. The short time between the scientific meeting (early 1987) and the publication of this book will override these deficiencies to many readers. One puzzling aspect of this book is the inclusion by the editors of a chapter entitled "The Aetiological Factors of Cancer of the Lower Genital Tract. A Different View." This chapter deals with the hypothesis that viruses and other agents can change the electrical properties of tissue in a manner somehow related to carcinogenesis. Most readers will find little of value in this chapter. This volume would be a valuable addition to a collection of books on topics related to papillomaviruses. The small number of herpesvirus-related chapters may not justify adding the book to a solely herpesvirus-related collection. j. ICENOGLE
Center for Infectious Diseases Center for Disease Control Atlanta GA
DIAGN MICROBIOL INFECT DIS 1989;12:197
BOOK REVIEW Herpes and Papilloma Viruses, (Vol. 2). G. De Palo, F. Rilke, and H. zur Hausen (eds.), Raven Press, N e w York, 1988, 284 pp., $73.50 This volume is the second from Raven Press on the subject of herpes and papilloma viruses resulting from the Serono symposia. The book contains 22 chapters written by a distinguished group of scientists doing research related to these viruses. It emphasizes clinical and epidemiologic topics, but also contains five chapters that emphasize molecular biology and/or specific laboratory techniques. Some of the chapters related to clinical and epidemiologic topics and "Sexually Transmitted Diseases: An Overview of Clinical Manifestations and Long Term Sequelae of Herpesvirus and H u m a n Papillomavirus Infections," "Clinico-Pathologic Correlations of Papillomavirus-Related Lesions of the Lower Genital Tract," and "Treatment of Genital Herpes." Topics related to herpesviruses alone are the subject of only four chapters, while papillomavirus-related topics occupy 14 of the chapters. Many of the authors have taken the time to produce overviews of their topics rather than the research papers often encountered in books derived from meetings. The authors have done a good job of noting when statements are strongly supported, and when they are the subject of ongoing research. Researchers interested in a reasonable overview of papillomavirus-related topics could obtain it by reading the chapters concerned with papillomaviruses and those concerned with cancers of the lower genital tract. Researchers interested in the specific her-
pesvirus topics addressed will mostly find those chapters readable and complete. There should be more figures in some of the chapters. For example, the chapter on morphologic relationships between papillomavirus infections and various cancers would have been improved by some high-quality photographs. In contrast to the text, both figures and figure captions in many chapters should be more understandable. There is also deficiency in the subject index. For example, there is only one entry under cervical cancer epidemiology, even though there are numerous sections of text directly related to this topic. The short time between the scientific meeting (early 1987) and the publication of this book will override these deficiencies to many readers. One puzzling aspect of this book is the inclusion by the editors of a chapter entitled "The Aetiological Factors of Cancer of the Lower Genital Tract. A Different View." This chapter deals with the hypothesis that viruses and other agents can change the electrical properties of tissue in a manner somehow related to carcinogenesis. Most readers will find little of value in this chapter. This volume would be a valuable addition to a collection of books on topics related to papillomaviruses. The small number of herpesvirus-related chapters may not justify adding the book to a solely herpesvirus-related collection. j. ICENOGLE
Center for Infectious Diseases Center for Disease Control Atlanta GA