RJ Soiffer (ed) Humana Press, New Jersey, USA, 2004, ISBN: 1-58829-180-4. Hardcover, 486pp. US $155
In the preface, Robert Soiffier, the editor of this new volume entitled Stem Cell Transplantation for Haematological Malignancies, states that his aim was to produce a comprehensive review of past and current experiences in the area of haemopoietic transplantation for malignant haematological conditions. The task of the reviewer therefore is to gauge how successful he has been in meeting these objectives. The volume is divided into a number of sections, the first of which deals with the results of transplantation for malignant disease, the second dealing with complications of transplantation, the third with sources of cells and the fourth and fifth with graft engineering and graft vs tumour effects. Owing to my current interest in the particular area, I headed first for the chapter by Kenney and Sweetenham on Stem Cell Transplantation for Lymphoma. This was a really excellent chapter delineating the current experience of autologous and allogeneic including reduced-intensity transplants. The authors cover all the major histological categories of lymphoma from Hodgkin's disease to mantle cell lymphoma. If any reader is interested in an up-to-date and authoritative review on this topic, then this is the chapter to read. There were some omissions however and notably CLL was covered neither in this chapter nor elsewhere and certainly this is a topic which could have been usefully included. I also enjoyed the chapter on transplantation for AML/MDS by Cole and Forman but from these high standards some of the chapters are a little less successful. Myeloma is an area where transplantation has become an important part of the management of many patients and is one section that could have been dealt with in greater depth.
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