James A. Stewart, MD, FACP

It is an unusual oncologist in the United States who has not had a patient receive a second opinion at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDA). Long a respected and well-known force in cancer research and patient care, MDA has exerted significant national and international influence not only with scientific publications but also through its training programs and large clinical operation. This book will add to that influence with concise disease-oriented chapters covering the patient population a medical oncologist will see in practice. The MD Anderson Manual of Medical Oncology is not a small handbook. Rather, it is a hardbound text of more than 1,000 pages authored by nearly 100 MDA clinicians.

Any new medical textbook must compete for readership under new rules. It is not just the numerous other books being published but also the wealth of information on the Internet that vies for the time and attention of the inquiring reader. Web-based general search engines and medical literature tools have made the previous frequent trips to the hospital library nearly obsolete for many of us. There is ready access to original references or discussion about almost any topic in cancer care. A successful book on cancer treatment, therefore, must provide more-something unique for the practicing physician, student, or teacher. Ideally, it will present a useful synthesis, interpretation, and, with luck, clinical wisdom