Radiation Therapy of Tumors and Diseases of the Nervous System

Abstract

Dr. Bouchard's book follows the 1942 work of Dyke and Davidoff in systematically reviewing the radiation therapy of tumors and diseases of the central nervous system. To his own rich experience he adds judicious evaluation of the work of others. Critical in selection of material, meticulous in planning, careful in approach, and objective in follow-up, Dr. Bouchard provides us with a succinct, clearly written, and well organized book. He reviews cases of 563 consecutive patients who had been adequately treated between 1939 and 1958. From five to 25 years later, follow-up data are available on all but one patient. He recognizes that the therapeutic results obtained with orthovoltage apparatus properly planned and executed equals that obtainable with megavoltage equipment. However, Dr. Bouchard notes that the ease of application and increased comfort to the patient makes megavoltage preferable, and for the past decade he has relied mainly on cobalt-60 irradiation. Nevertheless,