136 Reviews of recent publications--Fd Chem. Toxic. 1991, Vol. 29, No. 2

Despite these misgivings, the book is full of up-to- date information, and is well written, well produced and thoroughly indexed, and has extensive bibliogra- phies that provide a useful introduction to the primary literature.

[John Phillips--BIBILA]

Toxicology--A Primer on Toxicology Principles and Applications. Edited by M. A. Kamrin. Lewis Pub- lishers, Inc., Michigan, 1988. pp. xiii + 145. £21.85. ISBN 0-87371-133-5.

For the reader who has no knowledge of toxicology and who wishes to understand in general terms how potentially toxic chemicals are recognized and evaluated, the principles are dealt with adequately in the first half of this book. Those who have some knowledge of toxicology, however, would lose little by skimming the first five chapters. The sixth chapter outlines how animal tests and epidemiological studies are used to assess toxicity, and the remainder of the book is a discussion of how such information is translated into an assessment of risk to human popu- lations, and how, in practice, this risk is managed.

To illustrate risk management in practice, four case histories are considered in detail--artificial sweeten- ers, asbestos, formaldehyde and benzene--with a chapter devoted to each. In reviewing these cases, the author never loses sight of his intention to exemplify the way in which a multiplicity of pressures influences risk management decisions, describing the parallel effects of new experimental and epidemiological find- ings, technical feasibility of safety measures, changing public attitudes, economic pressures on industry and an evolving viewpoint of regulatory bodies. He also warns readers against the tendency to pay insufficient heed to the uncertainties in evaluating health hazard--a tendency that weighs against the scientists who express well founded reservations on risk assessment issues, and favours those who exploit the expectations of the public for absolute certainty from science.

Professor Kamrin's chief role at the Center for Environmental Toxicology at Michigan State Univer- sity is as a communicator of the scientific principles of toxicology to a variety of audiences, and these skills are evident in his fluent narrative. Almost inevitably though, his case histories centre on events in the USA; legislative requirements of other countries are cited mainly to illustrate the variability of safety standards with differences in national risk assessment and management criteria. Although the Eurocentric enquirer might feel deprived, these care- fully chosen examples convincingly illustrate the author's arguments, and juxtaposed in this way provide a compelling read.

This is a short book that could be read comfortably in an evening. It should appeal to those with little initial knowledge of toxicology who wish to bring some level-headedness to their evaluation of infor- mation on toxicological issues presented in the mass media and elsewhere.

[David PelIing--BIBRA]

19119 Year Book of Toxicology. Edited by Irving Sunshine, CRC Press, Inc., 1989. pp. 198. £35.50. ISBN 0-8493-3301-1.

I eagerly opened the 1989 Year Book of Toxicology, anticipating--at the very least--the results of the year's top toxicology investigative competitions, most promising new toxins, and perhaps even league tables of the best toxicological institutions! Instead, I was presented with selected abstracts from the year's research efforts.

The book made a poor start, I felt. Dr Sunshine bravely admits the difficulties of keeping abreast of toxicological developments, but the over-apologetic tone of the preface served to dampen my early enthusiasm. Phrases such as "choosing. . . posed a real problem", "encouraged to leaf through", "no objective criteria", "relatively arbitrary decision" and "a haven for browsers" did not exactly inspire confi- dence in what was to come.

Taking Dr Sunshine's advice, I leafed through the 257 articles in their nine sections. The format is easy to cope with. For each entry a brief abstract (written by the editor) describes the methods, results and, often, conclusions. Each abstract is accompanied by a brief comment, from an identified member of the editoral board, that is intended to support the paper's inclusion in the Year Book.

Dr Sunshine's abstracts appear to be an accurate reflection of the original work, based on checking a selection at random. For the general readership they 'set the scene' rather more clearly than the original authors' abstracts do, though the latter would per- haps be more appreciated by those with a specialized interest in a topic. Frankly though, I was often disappointed with the choice of study. Of the 257 papers, 116 relate only to analytical aspects. Medici- nal and recreational drug papers compose the majority of the remainder; Section 7 (Non-Drug Poisoning Reports) is introduced rather begrudgingly and contains despairingly few (five) abstracts. Given Dr Sunshine's description of toxicology as a multi- faceted field, it would have been nice to have seen more than just a glimpse of some of the aspects. Moreover, if these were the highlights of the toxico- logical year, I feel tempted to return my salary, since I appear to have slept through it.

The comments vary greatly in value. Some are excellent; others a waste of paper. To give two examples of the latter: Abstract 9-38 is entitled "Quantitative Determination of Erythromycin 2'- Ethylsuccinate in Human Plasma by Fast Atom Bombardment Mass Spectrometry". What incisive/n toto comment does this paper attract? "A quantitat- ive determination of erythromycin and its 2'-ethylsuc- cinate in plasma by FAB mass spectrometry is described". Impressed? Neither was I. How about Abstract 9-42, "Thermal Desorption GC/MS Analy- sis of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Offices of Smokers and Nonsmokers" This is accorded the enlightening comment, "Volatile organic compounds in the offices of smokers and nonsmokers were deter- mined by thermal desorption GC/MS"! There are others, but I labour the point. Clearly it was an exciting year. Entry 14 in Section 1 (Animal Studies), on induction of hepatic peroxisome proliferation in

Reviews of recent publications--Fd Chem. Toxic. 1991, Vol. 29, No. 2 137

mice, also caught my eye. The comment provided is a little misleading in that it implies that the study demonstrated lactofen to be an epigenetic carcinogen, when, in fact, it only demonstrated that lactofen induced peroxisome proliferation. The commentator missed the chance to say something interesting about the definition of a non-genotoxic carcinogen. It was an ideal opportunity since he had first declared iactofen to be an epigenetic carcinogen, and then postulated that the mechanism of tumour induction may involve the production of reactive oxygen species that damage DNA. My general dissatisfaction ex- tended to the classification of the very last abstract presented. This was a restrospective investigation into the neurological effects of environmental manganese, but ended up in the section on Analytical Techniques.

To summarize, I was surprised that only 58 jour- nals were represented and disappointed with the selection of articles and the balance of the sections. A number of the comments lacked any real depth. The book essentially dips a small toe into a very large ocean, and as such is very much a luxury item; it does not pretend to be an introductory or comprehensive reference text. Most toxicologists should be picking up important developments in the field through their routine scanning of the primary journals, and this book seems to offer little in this area in any case.

[Peter Watts--BIBRA]

Carcinogenesis~A Comprehensive Survey. Volume 11. Skin Tumoers: Experimental and Clinical Aspects. Edited by C. J. Conti, T. J. Slaga and A. J. P. Klein-Szanto. Raven Press, 1989. pp. x iv÷393. $122.50. ISBN 0-88167-478-8.

As our depth of knowledge on cancer increases it becomes impossible to include, in a single volume, all the subject matter relating to this disease. This has prompted the publication of a series of books, each volume of which concentrates on specific topics in a particular area. This book draws together much of the basic information on both the cellular and mol- ecular aspects of skin cancer, and the pathiobiology of skin tumours in humans and laboratory animals. As an introduction to the subject T. J. Siaga takes the reader gradually through the mechanisms involved in multistage skin carcinogenesis and provides a good explanation of initiation and promotion. This chapter is suitable for the reader with little scientific back- ground, as is the following chapter, which discusses tumour pathology.

With the increased incidence of skin tumours being attributed to exposure to the sun's rays, it may be of interest to all 'sunseekers' to read the reviews of the empirical data presented in this volume. Several studies are critically assessed and the overall con- clusion remains apparent: goodbye Costa del Sol, hello Lake District!

The remainder of the book covers, quite compre- hensively, most of the recent biology of skin tumours. Contributors have been assembled to give the reader

an overview of most current research interests, in- cluding immunology, histopathology and genetics. Whilst the 'gentle' introduction was suitable for the layman, the subsequent chapters are a little heavier going. However, if equipped with a medical dic- tionary a lot of useful and interesting information may be obtained.

For researchers and clinicians with an interest in skin cancer, this volume will provide an excellent means of 'catching up' with, or referring to, the current advances and practices in skin tumour biology.

[Andrew Tee--BIBRA]

Animal Clinical Bl~lmmistry--The Future. Edited by D. J. Blackmore. Assisted by P. D. Eckersall, G. O. Evans, H. Sommer, M. D. Stonard and D. D. Woodman. Cambridge University Press, 1988. pp. ix + 386. £40.00. ISBN 0-521-35518-4.

While clinical biochemistry studies are now a routine part of regulatory toxicity studies, assessing the toxicological importance of changes in the parameters involved is often a difficult process. A book entitled Animal Clinical Biochemistry might be expected to provide some help in this area. However, this title turned out to be somewhat misleading; the words 'The Future' printed in small type under the title indicate the real nature of this book.

Far from being a handbook helping in the interpre- tation of animal clinical biochemistry it has, in fact, been prepared from contributions to the Third International Meeting of the Society of Animal Clinical Biochemistry, and largely describes ways of measuring more parameters and amassing yet more data.

The book is divided into a number of sections including ones on hepatobiliary damage and dys- function, proteins and enzymes, and endocrinology. That on bepatobiliary damage is by far the most useful; R. J. Evans provides a reasonably comprehen- sive overview of the subject, while D. D. Woodman examines "The relative sensitization of plasma en- zyme and bile acid measurements to liver damage in laboratory animals". Other chapters of the book consider various aspects of haematology and endo- crinology, with much attention being devoted to studies on horses and cattle.

In conclusion, this book is not a reference manual on animal clinical biochemistry. Indeed, the absence of an index makes retrieval of any information remarkably difficult. It will doubtless be of value to researchers with a special interest in the veterinary aspects of animal clinical biochemistry and to those following the technological advances in the measurement of specialized parameters. However, if your problem lies in determining the toxicological significance of changes in animal clinical bio- chemistry, this book is not for you.

[Nan Worrell and Carol Thompson--BIBRA]

FCT 29/2--E