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The Emperor of All Maladies: a Biography of Cancer

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The Emperor of All Maladies: a Biography of Cancer Book Review J Gynecol Oncol Vol. 23, No. 4:291-292 pISSN 2005-0380 http://dx.doi.org/10.3802/jgo.2012.23.4.291 eISSN 2005-0399 The emperor of all maladies: a biography of cancer Dong Hoon Suh Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea [email protected] I found this book quite unique in that a history of cancer was covered along with a detailed description of personal experi- ence during the author’s early days as an oncology fellow. As the same position of an oncology fellow and researcher, I read the book in one sitting because I could empathize with the author all the way through reading the book. The ultimate purpose of this book is not just to understand the past of cancer but to raise a question: is it possible to eradicate this disease from our bodies and societies forever? To try to help the readers come up with the answer, this 571- page book covers the whole story of fighting against cancer from its first documented appearances to the recent remark- able triumphs including Trastuzumab for Her-2 expressing breast cancer and Imatinib for Bcr-abl positive chronic my- elogenous leukemia. Notably, historical photos were illus- trated so that the readers can see at a glance the story of this book. This book is composed of six parts that deal with the ceno- taphic events according to the historical progress in the screening, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer. In the first part, the author mentioned the first description of leukemia as “a suppuration of blood” by Dr. John Bennett and subsequent renaming to “leukemia” by Dr. Rudolf Virchow in 1847. The author introduces Dr. Sidney Farber as the father of modern chemotherapy, who accidentally discovered ami- By Siddhartha Mukherjee nopterin as a powerful anti-cancer chemical leading to the New York: Scribner; 2010 dramatic remission of leukemia. In addition, he describes the ISBN: 978-1-4391-0795-9 development of surgery and anesthesia as well as the con- cept of radicality in the removal of the tumor. In the following Hardcover, 571 pages parts, this book covers several landmarks in the development of the treatment of cancer including combination chemo- therapy and molecular targeted agents. Another part depicts the exploration history of cancer causes which includes the discovery of cancer-causing viruses such as Rous sarcoma vi- rus and two-hit hypothesis, that is, activated proto-oncogenes Copyright © 2012. Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology, Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and www.ejgo.org reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Dong Hoon Suh (jammed accelerators) and inactivated tumor suppressor against cancer” through comprehensively reviewing the past genes (missing brakes). history of it. I believe this book will provide hope and clarity to From a clinical viewpoint of a gynecologic oncology fellow, I those seeking to demystify cancer. I strongly recommend this have particularly welcomed part four, “prevention is the cure”. book not only to young oncology researchers but also to the The author provides the history of Papanicolau test and mam- health policymakers who are in charge of government money mography as the effective screening strategies for uterine plan. cervix and breast cancers, respectively. To stop smoking is also “We are so close to a cure for cancer. We lack only the will introduced as an effective primary prevention of lung cancer. and the kind of money and comprehensive planning that In conclusion, this book sheds new light on the future of “war went into putting a man on the moon” -Dr. Sidney Farber- 292 www.ejgo.org http://dx.doi.org/10.3802/jgo.2012.23.4.291.
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