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I
cannot recommend this book highly enough; it is the ideal reference for
every professional – clinicians and researchers, as well as general readers
and patients who require to know the most up-to-date research about the
huge array of topics associated with cancer. To everyone who has ever
wished to see compiled the massive research evidence of most natural compounds
upon the action of cancer, this book is heaven-sent.
The subject range is mammoth, including:
Parts I and II: A comprehensive examination of the cellular, molecular,
organismic and immunological aspects of cancer (mutations, gene expression,
proliferation and apoptosis, transcription factors, cell communications,
angiogenesis, invasion, metastasis, immune enhancement and suppression);
Part III: Clinical actions of trace metals, vitamin C and antioxidants,
polysaccharides, lipids, amino acids and related compounds, including
garlic, flavonoids, nonflavonoid phenolic compounds (curcumin, stilbenes,
quinones), terpenes, fat-soluble vitamins and the interaction between
natural compounds, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Then, following the
foregoing 359 pages, there are 13 Appendices. These range from structural
drawings and molecular weights of these compounds, to pharmacokinetics,
pharmacodynamics and dose scaling, supplemental information for material
presented within the main text (for example there are 129 references alone
for natural compounds which induce apoptosis in cancer cells in vitro,
and 118 references for natural compounds that inhibit increased vascular
permeability, beneficially affect prostanoid and leukotriene synthesis
and inhibit mast cell granulation in vitro). Appendix H, for example,
presents lengthy tables of natural compounds – herbal compounds, antioxidants
and nutritional compounds – which affect the immune system, and the composition
of Chinese herbal formulas. There are appendices about predictive models
of oral clearance, dose calculations (40 pages and 240 references!!),
as well as a highly useful compendium of acronyms, helpful if you occasionally
forget or become confused what DHA, EPA, SOD or PDGF (platelet-derived
growth factor) stand for, plus an 18-page comprehensive index.
This book by John Boik, co-investigator
of research projects at MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas,
and on the Editorial Review Board for the journal Alternative Medicine
Review, is a masterpiece and massive work (> 520 very large pages),
containing nearly 4,000 references to the published scientific literature.
The treatises explaining how cancer cells
are initiated, progress and metastasize are extremely lucid, as are various
theories explaining the actions of natural compounds and chemotherapy
drugs upon cancer proliferation, and the known genetic bases of cancer.
Well-presented diagrams illustrate the material – i.e. the Differentiation
of Stem Cells, and there is plentiful use of tables. Each and every chapter
and appendix is referenced throughout the text and followed at the end
of each chapter by the numbered list of complete references.
To most researchers – biochemists, oncologists,
molecular biologists, this book will illustrate and bring together the
massive material assimilated over a scientific lifetime, filling in possible
holes in the knowledge base.
For example, chapter 19 about Flavonoids
has an introduction, defining the six categories, followed by a summary
of research, oestrogenic and antioestrogenic effects, the effects of phytoestrogens
upon proliferation of cancer cells, the effects of isoflavones in oestrogen-dependent
tumours in animals, Type II oestrogen receptors, antioxidant effects,
cytotoxicity, in-vivo antitumour effects, estimated therapeutic and LOAEL
(lowest-observable-adverse-effects level) doses and potential carcinogenic
effects of flavonoids, followed by 196 references.
This book will be going straight onto my
already weighty shelf of cancer books, and will be used many times throughout
my normal researches into cancer. Buy it today.
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