Dorfman and Czerniak's Bone Tumors - Comprehensive Medical Textbook for Oncology, Radiology & Pathology - Perfect for Medical Students, Doctors & Researchers

I have been waiting for this book to come out for twelve years! In 2003, when I first committed to bone pathology, I was midway through my soft tissue fellowship. My mentor recommended Dorfman’s Bone Tumors as the necessary text for developing mastery in bone. At that time, I found it an excellent guide and companion; however, I was eager for the second edition to be published. Much was changing in bone pathology; there were new molecular tests and insights and improvements in therapy and imaging. There were also shifts in publishing: I longed for more extensive color plates so that I could better compare my observations to those in this treasured book. At long last, the second edition is here!Like the first edition, the second edition of Bone Tumors is a book for people who love bone pathology. Although there are a number of atlases and pattern-based approaches to bone pathology, as well as the canonical WHO Pathology and Genetics of Tumours of Soft Tissue and Bone, none of these references has the space to go into the depth that a true bone pathologist requires. Such references typically have only a few images, a bit of radiologic correlation and a thin differential diagnosis before the next entity is presented. While this may suffice in a busy private practice, where confirming straightforward entities and triaging specimens for outside consults are the goals, the pathologist who really wishes to appreciate the subtlety and nuances of bone pathology and who desires a deep understanding of the pathophysiology and clinical ramifications must read Dorfman and Czerniak’s Bone Tumors.The introductory chapter on general considerations is exhaustively complete and serves not only as an introduction to bone pathology, but even some basic concepts of surgical pathology. Some readers may find the introductory chapters too basic; for example, there is a figure explaining the process of flow cytometry and another cartoon demonstrating how immunohistochemical stains work. However, I think this more comprehensive approach is acceptable and will ultimately be of great benefit to housestaff.The chapters are organized in typical fashion for a bone pathology book: “Benign osteoblastic tumors”, “Osteosarcoma”, “Benign cartilage lesions”, etc. Each chapter has a general introduction to the topic followed by detailed examination of each entity, including definition, incidence and location, clinical symptoms, radiographic imaging, gross findings, microscopic findings, differential diagnosis and treatment and behavior. This is followed by “Personal comments”, which relays additional insights based on the authors’ extensive experience. These addenda are expanded in the current edition and are quite valuable.It is impressive just how comprehensive Bone Tumors is: for example, Bone Tumors dedicates 147 pages to osteosarcoma, in contrast to just 15 pages in the WHO and 30 to 40 pages in most atlas/pattern-based texts. Many of these additional pages are dedicated to beautiful histologic images that convey the wide range of histologic features that can be seen. The radiologic findings are described with sufficient detail that extensive radiology experience is not necessary. Finally, the differential diagnosis focuses on relevant entities to be considered and offers excellent guidelines to exclude the incorrect diagnosis.One of the challenges in the earlier edition was that the index was frequently inaccurate. I spot checked a handful of items and the index was right on. References have been updated throughout the book and although there are a few recent references that could have been added, relevant advances have been appropriately covered.I unreservedly recommend this book for anyone serious about bone pathology. Although there are other references that are adequate for day-to-day use, Dorfman and Czerniak’s Bone Tumors is the essential reference for the serious practitioner and belongs on the desk of anyone who signs out bone pathology.