International Manual of Oncology Practice

Book excerpt: Cancer is a very aggressive disease and currently it has been considered a challenge to oncologists and cancer patients worldwide. Nowadays, several therapeutic strategies had improved toward last decades. Surgery is many times still the best curative treatment, mainly in early stage disease. However, Radiotherapy and chemotherapy acquired a main role in this scenario. Target therapies were introduced for medical oncology practice and are demonstrating a hallmark of a new era in cancer treatment. More recently, immunotherapy has been considered the novel cornerstone in cancer treatment. The 2nd edition of the International Manual of Oncology Practice (iMOP) emerged after the great success of the iMOP 1st edition as a reference for medical oncologists and medical residents in the field. In this edition, several chapters were revised and its addresses from the molecular issues of cancer sciences to the clinical practice in medical oncology. In addition, multiple choice questions and clinical cases were included in the main chapters in order to improve the reader learning. The book focuses systemic treatments in many areas of medical oncology, such as breast cancer, gastrointestinal, thoracic, urological oncology, head and neck tumors, bone tumors, sarcomas and palliative care. The topics herein discussed will provide the readers a step forward in the medical oncology practice understanding and give facilities for help in cancer patient treatments.