I have read this book since my SHO days, when the first edition was published in 1996, and still enjoy reading every new edition. This is a concise, pocket-sized book which is designed to provide a rapid update on what is a rapidly changing subject. In its 10th edition, this well-known book has been fully updated to contain the latest advances in prostate cancer research and management.
The editors are eminent urologists who have skilfully achieved to create a textbook that is both authoritative and easy to understand. This makes it unique as a book that will be as useful to a urologist, urology nurse, or primary care physician just as it would be to a medical student new to the key concepts of prostate cancer diagnosis and management. I particularly like the colour illustrations, graphs and tables which are excellent for explaining various topics to trainees as well as for use in outpatients for counselling men with prostate cancer. Risk factors and the role of family history and diet in the causation of prostate cancer is a question often asked by patients, this is summarised with great clarity in chapters one and two, as is the Gleason / ISUP grade group system and how it influences prognosis.
Advances in imaging and biopsy techniques have been rapid in recent years, and these are covered well in chapter four. The tabular format of presentation of indications, criteria, and the pros and cons of the various management options act as useful reminders of the key points for discussion.
Chapter eight contains a superb overview of the management of castrate-resistant prostate cancer, with beautiful diagrams to illustrate key concepts such as androgen biosynthesis and mechanism of enzalutamide. It is a masterful overview of the subject which reads easily – it was almost effortless to be updated in a short period of time.
