Shirley V HodgsonWilliam D FoulkesCharis EngEamonn R Maher

A Practical Guide to Human Cancer Genetics 4th edition

Edited by: Published by: Springer ISBN: 978-1-4471-2375-0 Price: €148.39; £100.50; $149.00

Since the publishing of the first edition of this now classical textbook in 1993, the field of clinical cancer genetics has undergone a tremendous development. When the first edition was published, we just had knowledge of the breast/ovarian and Lynch syndrome genes, and much was new for health service.

Now, cancer genetics is an established part of clinical medicine, and this development can be followed through the different editions of this classical textbook. The present edition of the book has two main parts, the first 10 chapters cover cancer by site of origin, whereas the 11th chapter, which comprises half of the book, gives an overview of inherited cancer syndromes. Previous editions have had an introductory part that now has been omitted without the book being thinner, which of course is an effect of the increase in knowledge.

The book is, as stated on the back side text, ‘a comprehensive and up-to-date to the diagnosis, clinical features and management of inherited disorders conferring cancer susceptibility’. For the clinical specialist in genetics or any other specialty meeting cancer patients and their family members, or for the resident, this textbook is useful as a first source when looking for general references about human cancer genetics.

The 10 chapters on cancer by site of origin give a comprehensive overview of what type of cancers may be found in that tissue, the genetic background and molecular characteristics. Chapter 11 could be a book of its own, describing cancer syndromes, where even the rarest, where the cancer may not be the most important part of the syndrome, is discussed.

I will strongly recommend this book to those who meet patients who ask questions about the heritability of the cancer in their family, and hope that the next edition will be available as an app for my mobile phone.