Supriya Mallick - Practical Radiation Oncology

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The editors ofPractical Radiation Oncologyneed to be commended for compiling a succinct and informative handbook. The text integrates the technical and clinical aspects of radiation oncology. Optimal utilization of radiation as a cancer therapy requires a clear understanding of the range of issues, and this book focuses on the basic physics and technical aspects and provides information vividly to the clinician involved in radiation therapy planning, particularly those who are in training and new to practice. The book has been divided into six parts, covering areas such as instruments, brachytherapy, plan evaluation, clinical cases and clinical trials.

It is necessary to understand the specific physical and unique clinical applications of equipment used in radiation oncology. In the first part of the book, the practical aspects of various machines used are elaborated along with the quality assurance, personal monitoring, etc. All of these are important to understand the effective and appropriate use of radiation as a treatment modality. This leads to better clinical practice and greater confidence in recommending radiation treatment with appropriate techniques in a safe and equally effective manner.

Brachytherapy is an important modality of treatment, especially in several gynaecological malignancies, and it is an integral part of radiation oncology. The Practical Brachytherapy part integrates different aspect of brachytherapy, their basics and site-specific applications. Case selection, procedure, planning and plan evaluation are discussed. The practical tips provided in this part will be very useful to the students.

The recent practice of radiation oncology has been revolutionised by technological advances in radiation delivery and imaging systems. The growing impact of imaging in radiotherapy planning has provided new insights into morphological and functional status. There is no doubt that imaging constitutes an extremely important step in radiation therapy management. Finer aspects of plan evaluation including 3D conformal radiotherapy, IMRT and tomotherapy have been discussed. Planning images and clinical examples have also been added so as to bring further clarity into the planning aspects.

The developments in cancer therapy are increasingly arising from studies in basic science, and understanding of radiobiology plays a significant role. The Practical Radiobiology part has been presented in a concise and interesting way. This will serve as a comprehensive guide in radiobiology related to radiation oncology.

The exit examination for students appears as an insurmountable problem for them; this book is conceived and written for medical students preparing for their examination. Thirteen most relevant cases have been discussed in each chapter from an exit examination point of view and will be a useful guide for quick revision. Additionally, this will be an excellent quick reference for all physicians.

The last part of the book deals with relevant topics in clinical trials, translational research and radiation toxicity mitigation and treatment in modern practice of radiation therapy.

The individual chapters in this book are well written and superbly illustrated. I congratulate the authors for their successful efforts, as the authors have gleaned information to make easy reading. Careful attention is given to the concepts that are crucial in understanding modern techniques. The information in this book is presented in a logical and straightforward manner, thus offering an enjoyable learning experience.

It is a great honour and a privilege for me to write a foreword for this book. I am confident that many clinicians would significantly benefit from the information provided by the authors. The data indicate that radiation therapy continues to be an important modality in the treatment of malignant and a large number of benign conditions.

Practical Radiation Oncologyis long due for the radiation oncology community. The radiation oncology field has witnessed a paradigm shift in the last decade and has become a highly sophisticated tech-rich branch of medical science. It had become increasingly difficult to keep pace with the fast technical evolution and to know details of technical integrity of modern radiation oncology equipment. Radiation physics and radiobiology have also evolved to complement our knowledge. Most importantly, clinical application is now very much evidence based and versatile. All these necessitate a book to compile all the necessary information at our fingertips, particularly for those who are in training and those who have entered the arena of practice. We realized these aspects and embarked on writing this book, which deals with practical aspects in practising radiotherapy. We designed the book in six parts,viz.Practical Physics and Instruments, Practical Brachytherapy, Practical Planning Aspects and Plan Evaluation, Practical Radiobiology, Clinical Cases and Other Relevant Topics. In this book, we have tried to include all the relevant information for day-to-day practice. Being a practically oriented book, we have added only relevant information regarding the history of radiation oncology so as not to overburden the reader. The chapters in the Practical Planning Aspects and Plan Evaluation part deal with practical aspects of how to evaluate a plan systematically with clinical examples, so that the reader understands each concept better. The chapters on clinical cases have been added keeping in mind those preparing for examinations as to how to approach a case including investigations and differentials. Practical planning aspects have also been added to each chapter including images wherever possible. These chapters have been prepared mainly for the resident in training preparing for the exit examination.