this original and incisive new book by naor and his colleagues, immunosuppression and human malignancy, offers a state-of-the-art critical analysis of the huge body of recent research on the immunosuppressive states associated with malignancy. maximum attention is paid to the role of suppressor macrophages and lymphocytes in malignancy-related immunodepression. the central question posed is whether immunosuppression induces carcinogenesis and/or tumor progression, or whether it is instead the result of these processes and/or the therapy protocols. sources of experimental artifacts are also evaluated. encyclopedically presented, each chapter of immunosuppression and human malignancy can be read independently, and each chapter features a detailed table summarizing that chapters major findings, providing the reader with concise material to aid in evaluation. investigators initiating work in the field will find it an especially valuable reference guide, as well as a useful tool in comparing findings published by all the major laboratories in the field. students of medicine will find novel perspectives complementing the basic information gleaned from lectures and textbooks. since certain treatment protocols for malignant diseases have already taken into account cause-effect relationships between tumors and immunodepression, physicians may also wish to use the book in evaluating their varied treatments, or perhaps the potential hazards associated with specific therapies. immunosuppression and human malignancy appears at a time of intensive debate on the existence of suppressor t cells. whereas immunosuppression per se has been well established, the community of immunologists is divided in its opinion about the role that suppressor t cells play in mediating this phenomenon; at the extreme end their existence has been completely denied. although the book cannot definitely resolve this problem, it provides all the arguments for both supporters and opponents of suppressor t cells, and it may serve to stimulate formulation of alternative immunosuppression interpretations.
