Molecular Biology of Cancer: Mechanisms, Targets, and Therapeutics

The only thing I disliked about this wonderful text book is the light text, which is straining to the eyes for some readers.Maybe other printings can be switched to a darker text.I know this has nothing to do with the content, but it is difficult for me to read.

Cancer biology is a fast-evolving field, with new knowledge and technologies published every day. When I look for a textbook for my trainees, I would like to find the one that summarizes the most important findings and, at the same time, keeps up with what’s happening in the field. I believe this book is the ideal one. This textbook not only includes classic knowledge, including the cellular, molecular, and genetic principles of cancer, but also well highlights some of the leading-edge knowledge, including oncogenic extrachromosomal DNA and cancer heterogeneity, reprogrammed cancer metabolism, and immunotherapy. The 5th edition of this book was published in 2021, and some of the papers cited were even just published in 2020. So you can imagine that this textbook really keeps up with the fast-growing field of cancer biology. And despite being comprehensive enough, this book is not throwing all the small details to overwhelm the readers, but to include related publications for the readers to dig in. I highly recommend this book to grad students and postdocs that are working on cancer biology. Undergrad students will also find it useful if they plan to do some research projects.

5 stars for contentSubtract 4 stars for print qualityIn photo, left side is a "normal" book, right side is paperback issue of Molecular Biology of Cancer. (Photo doesn't depict how actually difficult it is to read this book.)When the book arrived, it surprised me that a 450 page book was only 0.675" thick. When it was opened, the pages were thinner and more translucent than any of my other books.In order to reduce visibility of backside print in thinner paper, the publisher reduced the darkness and line width of the font. Saturation of images was reduced as well. Absolutely frustrating, and for someone with my eyesight, literally painful to read.For reference, I asked a friend with much better vision to examine the book. They concurred it was difficult to read.

As a medical and biology author and lecturer myself since the 1980s, I know how important good texts on a biological subject can be to students and other interested readers. And how hard they are to write. But this is one of the best. The author has combined her wealth of knowledge and experience to create a text that is clear to understand, precise and backed up with beautiful colour figures. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reading further into the rapidly expanding topic of cancer biology.

The book does demand some basic knowledge in genetics, physiology and molecular chemistry, so the uninitiated may find the book a little challenging. But for the people who either need an academic initiation in cancer research or who are enthusiastic followers but are looking for a more substantive text, this book is going to be a very fulfilling investment of time and effort. The text is crisp, informative and comprehensive all at the same time. About the structuring, the manner in which the individual chapters have been structured, they make absorption of concepts and mechanisms very intuitive. Although, personally I do feel, that the book could have included a few more illustrations.

I like the book. It explains the concepts clearly and the quality of the diagrams and images is good. It's also up to date with the latest developments in the field. Highly recommended to beginners in the field or as a refresher.