P Mehta (ed) Jones & Bartlett, Massachusetts, USA, 2004. ISBN 0-7637-1855-6. 486pp. US $134.95; UK £77.00
Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation is the first book of its kind focusing on the pediatric aspects of stem cell transplantation. With this in mind, it devotes a whole section to the special considerations of appropriate counseling, psychosocial adjustments, and ethical aspects of both pediatric patients and pediatric donors. The book also gives special attention to late effects of transplantation, which are particularly pertinent to the pediatric population. Within the section on disease-specific transplants, the chapters dealing with leukemia are very balanced and give the reader a true insight into the many controversies concerning the appropriate use of transplantation in these diseases. The authors deal with the broad range of pediatric indications but not immunodeficiency and acquired aplastic anemia, which have not been addressed. Complications post transplantation including infections, graft-versus-host disease and subsequent relapse are well covered, but the toxicity of transplant, for example, veno-occlusive disease, hemorrhagic cystitis, is only mentioned briefly. Most of the chapters are remarkably up-to-date given the time it takes to get into print; in particular, the section on umbilical cord blood transplantation provides a very accurate account of the current state-of-the-art. This book deals with many issues of pediatric transplantation not covered in other more general transplant textbooks and is informative to both the novice and experienced transplanter. The authors are to be congratulated.
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