Medicine and Oncology. An illustrated history. Vol. 7: Evolution of Cancer Treatments

While laboratory research in the second half of the 19th century contributed to providing physicians with new means to improve clinical practice, the transition period from the 19th to the 20th century was crucial in changing the face of medicine and making oncology a discipline that could finally be based on truly effective therapeutic modalities. Anaesthesia and antisepsis greatly broadened the horizons of surgery, allowing for the radical removal of neoplastic processes in any part of the body. The discovery of X-rays and radium provided a new weapon against cancer - radiotherapy - while improved laboratory techniques made hormonal agents increasingly effective in the treatment of hormone-dependent cancers, eliminating the need for physically and psychologically demanding operations such as ovariectomy and orchiectomy. These therapeutic modalities - together with chemotherapy - have expanded the range of treatable cancers, even with curative intent, but the greatest surprise has come from the extraordinary success of cancer immunotherapy. A better understanding of the interactions between host and tumour has made it possible to remove inhibitory mechanisms - to allow immunodepressed cells to perform their full function - and to modify T lymphocytes, enabling them to recognise antigens directly and become active. This has enabled the control, often over a long period of time, of numerous neoplasms, including some that until recently were still resistant to available treatments. The seventh volume of Medicine and Oncology presents these fascinating advances in a flowing and accessible manner, complemented by many vivid illustrations