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Inflammatory mediators
Reviews
of recent publications-Fd
Mephistopheles, appears to claim us. Unfortunately, these evolutionary speculations offer cold comfort to scientists seeking underlying mechanisms, a point conceded by the authors in their concluding remarks that “perhaps what the many changes that appear in old age chiefly share is not a common etiology, but a common teleology”. Altogether, this book is a useful collection of papers related to cancer and ageing, though many people will feel it covers well-trodden ground. Nevertheless, it remains a convenient single source of material for review and further study. The Role of the Registry in Cancer Control. Edited by
D. M. Parkin, G. Wagner & C. Muir. IARC Scient. Publ. no. 66. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon 1985. pp. 155. ;ElO.OO (available through Oxford University Press). ISBN 92-832- 1166-9. This book contains papers ‘derived’ from a 1983 Heidelberg meeting of the International Association of Cancer Registries. The cancer registry is a census that collects data on cancer incidence, classified by race, age, occupation and other variables. These data may be used to analyse chronological trends, geographical patterns and possible risk factors, with a view to uncovering the causes of cancer, evaluating different therapies, and finding ways of prevention. The eleven contributions in this book address the question of the usefulness of cancer registries from various aspects, and within each there is a critical discussion of the values as well as the pitfalls involved in the applications of cancer registration. The papers are arranged in an order flowing from the general to the more specialized aspects of the registries. Two introductory chapters provide the reader with a history and an overview of the roles of a cancer registry. Three subsequent chapters describe the evaluation and planning of preventive measures, screening programmes and services for the cancer patient. The specialized themes of other papers are directed at subjects such as the use of survival rate to evaluate cancer control programmes, the organization of Swedish cancer care programmes, and the role of hospital-based tumour registries in the USA. The one chapter of more direct appeal to toxicologists is the use of cancer registries to detect industrial risks. Examples of various epidemiological methods are discussed, drawn mainly from Scandinavian studies. Further contributions to the book examine the role of cancer registration in developing countries, and the use of cancer registry data to investigate second cancers occurring after treatment for the first. This book will be a useful reference for epidemiologists, and would appeal to any reader interested in the scientific and administrative aspects of cancer registration. It provides a good introductory education on the various roles of cancer registries, as well as convincing arguments for the support of such valuable resources. Inflammatory Mediators. Edited by G. A. Higgs & T. J. Williams. The Macmillan Press Ltd, 1985. pp. viii + 248. f35.00. ISBN O-333-38759-7.
Chem Toxic. Vol. 24, No. 9
991
Inflammation is the process by which the tissues of the body respond to injury. Its importance to the survival of the individual is therefore paramount and it has accordingly been described as one of the cornerstones of pathology. Although the major signs of inflammation (i.e. redness, swelling, heat, pain and often some loss of function) have been recognized since before the time of Christ, the processes by which these changes are brought about have only recently begun to emerge. The current state of the art of inflammatory processes reveals an extremely complex interaction between a bewildering array of chemical mediators and a somewhat smaller number of target cells. The problems facing those who wish to understand inflammation include the need to identify all of the chemical mediators involved, their interactions not only with one another but also with the target cells. and the abilitv of the individual cells to resuond to specific mediators in an appropriate manner when literally immersed in a pool containing a multitude of other mediators. It is to questions such as these that the contributors have addressed themselves in this book, the proceedings of a satellite symposium of the IUPHAR 9th International Congress of Pharmacology held in London in August 1984. The first chapter (by Dr G. Majno) is a pathologist’s overview, and an excellent one at that, entitled “Inflammatory mediators: where are they going?’ As well as the ambiguity implicit in the title, he could also be forgiven if he had supplied the caveat “and what on earth are they all doing”, because in the chapters that follow, it is clear that this is an area where ignorance still holds sway and investigators are realizing more and more just how complex the process is. Indeed, Dr Majno says “Working conditions in the field of inflammation today remind me of those that must have prevailed in the tower of Babel”. The first inflammatory mediator to be discovered was histamine, so it is fitting that the following chapter is devoted to its role in inflammation, particularly in relation to the neurogenic component of the process. Moving from the traditional to the more recent mediators, Dr Gerry Higgs and his colleagues at Wellcome Research Laboratories discuss the synthesis and inhibition of eicosanoids (so called because of their 20-carbon backbones) which comprise two important families, the leukotrienes and the prostaglandins. Other aspects of inflammation are also covered in the other chapter, including platelet activating factor (which has been implicated as a mediator of inflammation as well as haemostasis), the fibrinolytic system, complement, neutrophil chemotaxis and its modulation by prostaglandins and macrophages, lymphocyte chemotaxis, and the role of interleukin-1 in arthritis. As Dr Majno points out in the introductory chapter, medical knowledge doubles every 10 years, and so beginning with one chemical mediator of inflammation in the 192Os, one could have predicted between 64 and 128 mediators by the mid- 1980s. This is borne out by the current listing of something just in excess of 100 mediators, with undoubtedly more to follow. Unfortunately, from the title one might be misled into thinking that the book is a general account of
992
Reviews
of recent publications-l%
this broad range of mediators, instead of the series of short reviews by experts in specialist areas. Accordingly, although this book will undoubtedly attract
Chem Toxic. Vol. 24, No. 9
those whose specific interests coincide with the particular topics covered, the scope is too narrow to appeal to the more general reader.
of recent publications-Fd
Mephistopheles, appears to claim us. Unfortunately, these evolutionary speculations offer cold comfort to scientists seeking underlying mechanisms, a point conceded by the authors in their concluding remarks that “perhaps what the many changes that appear in old age chiefly share is not a common etiology, but a common teleology”. Altogether, this book is a useful collection of papers related to cancer and ageing, though many people will feel it covers well-trodden ground. Nevertheless, it remains a convenient single source of material for review and further study. The Role of the Registry in Cancer Control. Edited by
D. M. Parkin, G. Wagner & C. Muir. IARC Scient. Publ. no. 66. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon 1985. pp. 155. ;ElO.OO (available through Oxford University Press). ISBN 92-832- 1166-9. This book contains papers ‘derived’ from a 1983 Heidelberg meeting of the International Association of Cancer Registries. The cancer registry is a census that collects data on cancer incidence, classified by race, age, occupation and other variables. These data may be used to analyse chronological trends, geographical patterns and possible risk factors, with a view to uncovering the causes of cancer, evaluating different therapies, and finding ways of prevention. The eleven contributions in this book address the question of the usefulness of cancer registries from various aspects, and within each there is a critical discussion of the values as well as the pitfalls involved in the applications of cancer registration. The papers are arranged in an order flowing from the general to the more specialized aspects of the registries. Two introductory chapters provide the reader with a history and an overview of the roles of a cancer registry. Three subsequent chapters describe the evaluation and planning of preventive measures, screening programmes and services for the cancer patient. The specialized themes of other papers are directed at subjects such as the use of survival rate to evaluate cancer control programmes, the organization of Swedish cancer care programmes, and the role of hospital-based tumour registries in the USA. The one chapter of more direct appeal to toxicologists is the use of cancer registries to detect industrial risks. Examples of various epidemiological methods are discussed, drawn mainly from Scandinavian studies. Further contributions to the book examine the role of cancer registration in developing countries, and the use of cancer registry data to investigate second cancers occurring after treatment for the first. This book will be a useful reference for epidemiologists, and would appeal to any reader interested in the scientific and administrative aspects of cancer registration. It provides a good introductory education on the various roles of cancer registries, as well as convincing arguments for the support of such valuable resources. Inflammatory Mediators. Edited by G. A. Higgs & T. J. Williams. The Macmillan Press Ltd, 1985. pp. viii + 248. f35.00. ISBN O-333-38759-7.
Chem Toxic. Vol. 24, No. 9
991
Inflammation is the process by which the tissues of the body respond to injury. Its importance to the survival of the individual is therefore paramount and it has accordingly been described as one of the cornerstones of pathology. Although the major signs of inflammation (i.e. redness, swelling, heat, pain and often some loss of function) have been recognized since before the time of Christ, the processes by which these changes are brought about have only recently begun to emerge. The current state of the art of inflammatory processes reveals an extremely complex interaction between a bewildering array of chemical mediators and a somewhat smaller number of target cells. The problems facing those who wish to understand inflammation include the need to identify all of the chemical mediators involved, their interactions not only with one another but also with the target cells. and the abilitv of the individual cells to resuond to specific mediators in an appropriate manner when literally immersed in a pool containing a multitude of other mediators. It is to questions such as these that the contributors have addressed themselves in this book, the proceedings of a satellite symposium of the IUPHAR 9th International Congress of Pharmacology held in London in August 1984. The first chapter (by Dr G. Majno) is a pathologist’s overview, and an excellent one at that, entitled “Inflammatory mediators: where are they going?’ As well as the ambiguity implicit in the title, he could also be forgiven if he had supplied the caveat “and what on earth are they all doing”, because in the chapters that follow, it is clear that this is an area where ignorance still holds sway and investigators are realizing more and more just how complex the process is. Indeed, Dr Majno says “Working conditions in the field of inflammation today remind me of those that must have prevailed in the tower of Babel”. The first inflammatory mediator to be discovered was histamine, so it is fitting that the following chapter is devoted to its role in inflammation, particularly in relation to the neurogenic component of the process. Moving from the traditional to the more recent mediators, Dr Gerry Higgs and his colleagues at Wellcome Research Laboratories discuss the synthesis and inhibition of eicosanoids (so called because of their 20-carbon backbones) which comprise two important families, the leukotrienes and the prostaglandins. Other aspects of inflammation are also covered in the other chapter, including platelet activating factor (which has been implicated as a mediator of inflammation as well as haemostasis), the fibrinolytic system, complement, neutrophil chemotaxis and its modulation by prostaglandins and macrophages, lymphocyte chemotaxis, and the role of interleukin-1 in arthritis. As Dr Majno points out in the introductory chapter, medical knowledge doubles every 10 years, and so beginning with one chemical mediator of inflammation in the 192Os, one could have predicted between 64 and 128 mediators by the mid- 1980s. This is borne out by the current listing of something just in excess of 100 mediators, with undoubtedly more to follow. Unfortunately, from the title one might be misled into thinking that the book is a general account of
992
Reviews
of recent publications-l%
this broad range of mediators, instead of the series of short reviews by experts in specialist areas. Accordingly, although this book will undoubtedly attract
Chem Toxic. Vol. 24, No. 9
those whose specific interests coincide with the particular topics covered, the scope is too narrow to appeal to the more general reader.