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Key Advances in Effective Management of Breast Cancer
Surgical Oncology 8 (1999) 167}176
Book Reviews Key Advances in Ewective Management of Breast Cancer, M. Baum, M. Spittle (Eds.); RSM Press, ISBN 1-85315385-0 This small book is a summary of the proceedings of a symposium held at the Royal Society of Medicine London in September 1998. There are 10 contributors covering all aspects of the management from diagnosis through to palliative care. These brief publications are of great value to those attending the symposium acting as an aid memoir on what transpired but must be of limited value to the general reader who has not the bene"t of the discussion after each presentation. The symposium was clearly not simply a reiteration of guidelines in breast cancer treatment, but attempted to address practical as well as theoretical aspects of treatment and suggested changes in treatment that most readers will be well familiar with already.
Most of the articles are a synopsis of the presentation and are necessarily concise. They may best be used as a starting point for further reading and the references supplied are useful. However, this is not always the case as the paper from the Edinburgh unit asking the question as to `Who should provide diagnostic services?a does give data to consider. This is of great practical importance to clinicians developing their breast service under increasing pressure to delegate duties normally done by doctors to others. Overall though I suspect that this little book will have limited appeal other than to make up for missing what was a stimulating days discussion on practical problems in breast cancer management. J.N. Fox Castle Hill Hospital, C/O Ward 10, Castle Road, Cottingham, East Yorkshire HU16 5JQ, UK
PII: S 0 9 6 0 - 7 4 0 4 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 3 8 - 9
¸ymphatic Drainage of the Skin and Breast, Edited by R.F. Uren, J.F. Thompson & R.B. Howman-Giles. Published by Harwood, New York, ISBN 90-5702-410-1 This book is most welcome. It is the "rst comprehensive textbook to detail the methodology of lymphoscintigraphy of the skin and breast and to represent the results of a careful analysis of 1600 cases of melanoma and more than 100 cases of breast cancer. It covers the basic knowledge required by any surgeon, nuclear medicine physician or oncologist involved in the treatment of melanoma and breast cancer. The volume is divided into essentially three sections * normal lymphatics, lymphatic mapping of the skin and lymphatic mapping of the breast. The historical detail of the evolution of our understanding of the normal lymphatic system is well researched. The contents cover a broad spectrum ranging from normal anatomy of the lymphatic system, radiocolloids and their interaction with lymphatic physiology, the sentinel node concept in breast cancer and melanoma through to the highlights of the book-patterns of lymphatic drainage of the skin and breast. PII: S 0 9 6 0 - 7 4 0 4 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 3 9 - 0
It illustrates in text and in diagrams the revolution that has taken place in our understanding of the drainage patterns of the skin and breast. Drainage patterns are complex, a tumour can drain to more than one drainage "eld and ectopic sites of drainage are frequent. The presentation is attractive with informative scans and subheadings, which allow the reader rapid access to information. One de"ciency of note is the lack of correlation with the surgical "ndings. In particular, did the scanned nodes correlate with the surgically excised nodes, and in relation to breast was the histological status of the node predictive of that of the rest of that drainage basin? In conclusion, this book is an important step in furthering our knowledge of the lymphatic system, and it will make informative reading for anyone who plans to develop their own sentinel node programme. H.P. Redmond Department of Surgery, Cork University Hospital WILTON, Cork, Ireland
Book Reviews Key Advances in Ewective Management of Breast Cancer, M. Baum, M. Spittle (Eds.); RSM Press, ISBN 1-85315385-0 This small book is a summary of the proceedings of a symposium held at the Royal Society of Medicine London in September 1998. There are 10 contributors covering all aspects of the management from diagnosis through to palliative care. These brief publications are of great value to those attending the symposium acting as an aid memoir on what transpired but must be of limited value to the general reader who has not the bene"t of the discussion after each presentation. The symposium was clearly not simply a reiteration of guidelines in breast cancer treatment, but attempted to address practical as well as theoretical aspects of treatment and suggested changes in treatment that most readers will be well familiar with already.
Most of the articles are a synopsis of the presentation and are necessarily concise. They may best be used as a starting point for further reading and the references supplied are useful. However, this is not always the case as the paper from the Edinburgh unit asking the question as to `Who should provide diagnostic services?a does give data to consider. This is of great practical importance to clinicians developing their breast service under increasing pressure to delegate duties normally done by doctors to others. Overall though I suspect that this little book will have limited appeal other than to make up for missing what was a stimulating days discussion on practical problems in breast cancer management. J.N. Fox Castle Hill Hospital, C/O Ward 10, Castle Road, Cottingham, East Yorkshire HU16 5JQ, UK
PII: S 0 9 6 0 - 7 4 0 4 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 3 8 - 9
¸ymphatic Drainage of the Skin and Breast, Edited by R.F. Uren, J.F. Thompson & R.B. Howman-Giles. Published by Harwood, New York, ISBN 90-5702-410-1 This book is most welcome. It is the "rst comprehensive textbook to detail the methodology of lymphoscintigraphy of the skin and breast and to represent the results of a careful analysis of 1600 cases of melanoma and more than 100 cases of breast cancer. It covers the basic knowledge required by any surgeon, nuclear medicine physician or oncologist involved in the treatment of melanoma and breast cancer. The volume is divided into essentially three sections * normal lymphatics, lymphatic mapping of the skin and lymphatic mapping of the breast. The historical detail of the evolution of our understanding of the normal lymphatic system is well researched. The contents cover a broad spectrum ranging from normal anatomy of the lymphatic system, radiocolloids and their interaction with lymphatic physiology, the sentinel node concept in breast cancer and melanoma through to the highlights of the book-patterns of lymphatic drainage of the skin and breast. PII: S 0 9 6 0 - 7 4 0 4 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 3 9 - 0
It illustrates in text and in diagrams the revolution that has taken place in our understanding of the drainage patterns of the skin and breast. Drainage patterns are complex, a tumour can drain to more than one drainage "eld and ectopic sites of drainage are frequent. The presentation is attractive with informative scans and subheadings, which allow the reader rapid access to information. One de"ciency of note is the lack of correlation with the surgical "ndings. In particular, did the scanned nodes correlate with the surgically excised nodes, and in relation to breast was the histological status of the node predictive of that of the rest of that drainage basin? In conclusion, this book is an important step in furthering our knowledge of the lymphatic system, and it will make informative reading for anyone who plans to develop their own sentinel node programme. H.P. Redmond Department of Surgery, Cork University Hospital WILTON, Cork, Ireland