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Clinical Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Published Online, February 19, 2008. www.theannals.com, DOI 10.1345/aph.1K486
Format: This text is a hardcover book with an insert of 60 color plates on 15 pages.
Audience: As stated in the preface, the intended audience is composed of general and disease-specific practicing oncologists and hematologists, physicians in training, researchers, and nurses.
Purpose: The purpose of the book is to provide a resource devoted solely to hematologic malignancies.
Content: The book is divided into 6 parts: leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative diseases, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and related disorders, stem cell transplantation, and special topics in neoplastic hematology. The first 4 parts are further subdivided into sections (eg, acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, special topics in multiple myeloma). Finally, each section (or part) is further divided into chapters detailing such topics as epidemiology, molecular biology and cytogenetics, clinical features, treatment, and response criteria. There are a total of 109 chapters.
Usability: The table of contents enables the reader to easily locate a particular topic. The index is similarly extensive. The chapters, while concise and clearly written, provide complete overviews and extensive references for those who wish to supplement their reading with the primary literature reviewed in the chapter. The price of $195 is appropriate for this very useful text.
Highlights: This is an excellent text. The contributors are recognized experts in the field and there is something new to learn in every chapter, even for people familiar with the topic. Some concepts are repeated in multiple chapters within a section; this reinforces the concept, but also allows each chapter to be useful as a stand-alone entity.
Limitations: As with all textbooks that deal with changing paradigms and treatments, the pace of new developments may make some information outdated seemingly as soon as it is published. The editors and publishers appropriately note at the beginning of the book that it is important for readers to confirm the information in the text with other sources.
Reviewer's Summary: Overall, this is an easy-to-read, well-written text that provides an excellent resource for pharmacists practicing in hematology and for pharmacy specialty residents and fellows, as well as for the rest of the intended audience. It is a useful addition to the individual library of any of these clinicians.
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