Br. J. Surg. Vol. 70 (1983) 249-252 Printed in Great Britain

Book reviews

Hormone Therapy B. J . A . Furr. 230 x 155mm. Pp. 3/2+ viii. Illustrated. 1982 Eastbourne: Suunders. $10.75. THIS book, the first in a series, comprises reviews dealing with current management of hormone responsive malignancies. As in any multi- author publication the standard varies considerably, and regrettably there is repetition. The introduction by Stoll makes the point that success of hormone therapy is measured in terms of tumour restraint rather than cure. The greater part of the book deals with breast carcinoma. Jordan describes laboratory models of hormone-dependent cancer sensibly and objectively including a good review of human cancer cell lines. Santen and Brodie on aromatase inhibitors include considerable pharmacological detail, but the Aminoglutethimide story makes fascinating reading. Berstock and Baum produce a predictably clear account of adjuvant endocrine and chemotherapy and a realistic attitude to clinical trials. DeSombre on hormone receptors, prognosis and therapy is enjoyable and does not avoid the vexed problem of quality control of assays. The chapters on leukaemia, lymphoma, endometrial carcinoma and pituitary adenomas proved somewhat esoteric for a general surgeon, although those on thyroid and prostate carcinoma are succintly written and certainly of greater relevance.

In view of the rapid advances currently being made this volume will soon be out of date, for example the discovery and therapeutic implications of steroid receptors in pancreatic tissue are not mentioned.

The book is well produced, excellently referenced and reasonably priced, although the index is poor and might well have been omitted. A copy will doubtless be available in all medical libraries, but this is not a book which the general surgeon need own.

E. BENSON

Double Contrast Examination of the Esophagus. An Atlas M . Corsi, A . Modesto and C . Morefti. 270 x 205mm. Pp. 113. Illustrated. 1982. London. Global Books. f20.00. THIS book follows a modern trend for bilingual texts with Italian and English in adjacent columns. It is an atlas with good reproduction of radiographs. The authors aim to promote double contrast examination of the oesophagus, just as was done for the colon and stomach in recent years. Rather subtle changes are described in reflux oesophagitis, and more extensive coordination between these and endoscopic study would be rewarding. Earlier diagnosis of varices is mentioned and also earlier neoplastic infiltration- but this would only be relevant in mass screening. The point is fairly made that motility disorders associated with sclerodema call for more conventional study, whereas mucosal assessment is best achieved by double contrast techniques. Hence the postoperative anastomosis, always a difficult problem, can be assessed for recurrence of tumour with greater certainty. On the whole the grammar is good but it is a pity that due to careless editing there are five spelling mistakes in the brief foreword!

J. SPENCER

Lecture Notes on Urology J . Blandy. Third edition. 235 x 210 mm. Pp. 384 -t vii. Illustrated. 1982. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific. f9.80. A NEW edition of Professor Blandy’s Lecture Notes on Urology, after only 5 years, reminds us of recent advances in both investigation and treatment. The style and presentation of this new edition follow the old pattern, which bears no relation to lecture notes, but still convey the enthusiasm of the author for his subject, his skill as a very readable writer and his valuable ability to draw clear and helpful diagrams. These factors make it a large book to carry around, 20 per cent larger than the second edition, but the worn and tattered appearance of our copy in the library testifies to the fact that it Is extensively used. It covers all aspects in a practically useful way; the development of the urinary tract, so valuable for the understanding of paediatric urology, surgical anatomy, clinical note-taking and diagnosis of patients, including mention of most of the specialized forms of investigation which are coming into general use.

Before Professor Blandy produced his lecture notes in 1976 there was no pre-Fellowship textbook of urology. It would now be extremely difficult to improve unless one aimed at the true lecture note style and produced a book which could be fitted into the pocket for easy reference while clerking patients on the ward or in the outpatient clinic. The approach of this book has the important advantage that the human touch can be, and is, freely emphasized.

C. P. BATES

Female Incontinence. Progress in Clinical and Biological Research Volume 78 Norman R. Zinner and Arrhur M . Sterling. 235 x 155 mm. Pp. 416 f xxiv. Illustrated. 1981. New York: Liss. $64.00. THE papers delivered at the 1980 joint meeting of the 10th Annual Continence Society Conference and the Urodynamic Society in Los Angeles have been edited by the main organizers into a useful book. The contents are broader than the title suggests and include some papers on male disorders and on the upper urinary tract. This, and the fact that the editors are a professor of urology and a professor of chemical engineering, may indicate the wide spectrum of mukidisciplinary interests of scientists and clinicians who participate in the annual ICS meetings. As well as invited papers on the state of the art over the past decade, there is an important contribution by an outside scientist, Dr Eugene Yates, on how he viewed the deliberations. The main papers, selected by peer review, cover anatomy and neurophysiology, investigation and diagnosis, computer application and new concepts in treatment. The book is well illustrated and edited, and is mandatory reading for any scientist or clinician interested in advances in this discipline.

S. STANTON

Phenoxybenzamine in Disorders of Micturition Proceedings of a Symposium held in London, Nov. 1981 W . Keith Yeates. 235 x 155mm. Pp. 103. Illustrated. 1982. Welwyn Garden City: Smith Kline & French. Free to UK Medical Practitioners. THIS book consists of the proceedings of a symposium held in London in November 1981, under the auspices of Smith Kline & French Laboratories Ltd who are the makers of the drug in question.

The importance of this publication lies in the Pact that there is a significant probability that one form or another of drug therapy is eventually going to prove effective in replacing a large percentage of prostatectomies. One of the authors states on p. 77 that ‘phen- oxybenzamine is suitable for patients who are not keen to have a prostatectomy, who are unsuitable for prostatectomy by virtue of co- existing pathology, or when the waiting list for surgery is lengthy. It was the impression both of the patients and investigators that phenoxybenzamine gives good symptomatic relief with an acceptable incidence of side effects.’

In the words of another author on p. 83 ‘there are the patients who have troublesome symptoms but in whom operation is not needed’. Furthermore, he goes on to state ‘there are some patients who do need operation but in whom it is postponed either at the patient’s request or for medical reasons, such as, for example, after an acute illness’. This again refers to the drug in question.

There are some other excellent papers on the neurological aspects of micturition, but the preceding quotes form the guts of the subject as far as the practicing clinician is concerned.

C. CHARLTON

Early Gastric Cancer. Proceedings of the Second BSG. SK & F. International Workshop 1981 Dr P . B. Cotton. 235 x 160mm. Pp. 83. Illustrated. 1982. Welwyn Garden City: Smith Kline & French. Free. FOR several years Japanese clinicians have reported remarkably high cure rates, 90 per cent or more, in cases of early gastric cancer (EGC). Many British surgeons, accustomed to cure rates of 25 per cent or less, have felt that early cancer was a purely Japanese experience, but recent European experience has shown that it is not just an oriental phenomenon. To draw attention to the importance of early diagnosis, a workshop was organized in 1981 by the British Society of Gastroenterology, with the help of Messrs. Smith, Kline & French. EGC is defined as cancer limited to the mucosa and submucosa, a definition that is somewhat paradoxical due to the presence of lymph node metastases in 5 per cent of the former and 30 per cent of the latter!

This little book records the presentations at the workshop in 38 mini- chapters by authors from Japan and several European countries. Perhaps the most valuable contributions refer to the high risk groups, pernicious anaemia, gastric polyps and late postgastrectomy patients. Dysplasia is clearly discussed by Morson and the value of screening in the long term after gastrectomy is stressed by Huibregtse. The discussion by Seifert of the malignant potential of polyps is most useful; we learn that it is only the relatively uncommon true adenomatous