4th Edition Published 2015

Jim Cassidy, Donald Bissett, Roy Spence, Miranda Payne, Gareth Morris-stiff

Published by Oxford University Press

ISBN  978-0-19-968984-2

Price  £34.99

http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/academic/series/medicine/oxhmed/9780199689842.do

Oncology is a very fast moving, scientifically based discipline and our personal knowledge bases constantly need updating to keep up with all these ongoing changes. It is also a very big subject area with a substantial amount of literature around it and is ever growing. If oncology is not your main discipline and yet you want to keep up-to-date with the latest thinking as it may constitute a part of your everyday clinical workload, then this is the type of book which may interest you. It is part of the well-regarded Oxford handbook series and like other titles in the series; this book has a vinyl cover which protects the contents. There are 873 pages within this book and packs in a lot of information, yet despite that it feels compact and certainly very portable which is what you would expect from a member of the Oxford handbook series.

Again like other members of the Oxford handbook series, there was little superfluous data and all the information provided, is very precise, relevant and not overwhelming. A lot of the paragraphs are in bullet points making it easy and pleasant on the eye to read. The text based information provided, is highly relevant and at the correct level of depth for a practising clinician. That clinician could be an oncologist as well as someone else from another specialty. Despite the complexity of the speciality, the text is easy to understand. It is designed for rapid access to read around a topic quickly and despite the relative slimness (although it is 873 pages) there is a significant amount of detail here. During the review period when I wanted to consult this book, it always provided me with the correct and appropriate information in a format I was very comfortable with. It answered almost all my questions whenever I went to refer to it.

As well as a reference source, it is also useful to simply open up and read around a specific topic. Because of the compact and user-friendly layout, this was an easy, rapid and painless process. Considering what you get I think this book represents very good value for money. If I had a wish for more, I would like access to an eBook bundled with the purchase price, so I can use it on my phone.

All in all, this is a superb and concise review of the topic and is ideal for GPs, junior as well as senior staff both in oncology and in other specialties which have to deal with patients suffering from cancer. Practically speaking that means most clinical specialties. This book has an excellent pedigree and this new edition certainly lives up to the high standards set by the Oxford handbook series.

Dr Harry Brown

September 2015