A revolutionary textbook on Surgical Oncology  dealing with the fundamental principles  evidence based approaches and emergent technologies was released today by Dr  Prathap C  Reddy  Chairman  Apollo Hospitals  The book has been edited and compiled by Dr  David L Bartlett  Dr  Pragatheeshwar Thirunavukarasu and Dr  Mathew D Neal  Division of Surgical Oncology  University of Pittsburgh  USA  The first copy of the book was received by Pariventhar Thiru  T R Pachamuthu  Chancellor  SRM University  
The book comprises contributions of 40 authors from the USA  including experts in their respective fields  The first chapter of the book has been authored by the iconic figure in cancer research  Dr  Bernard Fisher  after whom is named the commonly known  Fisher Concept of Cancer   a concept that explains how cancer spreads  This is the first ever book in oncology which has a Level of Evidence table at the end of each chapter which lists down the strength of scientific evidence available for each procedure or treatment that is practiced  Such information is priceless in an era of evidence based medicine  There is one exclusive chapter for Robotic surgery in the book  which would be the future of Surgical Oncology
Speaking at the launch  Dr  Prathap C  Reddy  Chairman Apollo Hospitals Group said   This pathbreaking book enlightens one on several aspects of cancer research  It can lead and steer many more future researches in understanding cancer and developing innovative and futuristic therapies  Apollo Hospitals is committed to making every type of Cancer curable and my teams pursue this goal relentlessly   In India  almost 35% of the world s cancer population resides and cognizant of this statistic  Apollo Hospitals has stepped up efforts for the prevention of cancer  early detetction of cancer and is forefront of developing innovative protocols to treat cancer  On this momentous occasion  I convey my heartiest congratulations to Dr  Pragatheeshwar and his team for having brought upon this commendable work to India  This is indeed an opportunity for the medical fraternity in India to raise the bar in cancer surgery and treatment 
Dr  Pragatheeshwar  who has pioneered this project  said   This book has been specially crafted to educate and update oncologists in India on the latest evidence  technologies and the future of cancer surgery  It is a text book which has been supported by Level of Evidence tables so as to provide enough research based approaches to cancer care  Dr  Bartlett s team and I have been working on a particular therapy named Vaccinia Oncolytic Gene Therapy  which is still in the stages of testing and fool proofing  We hope that through the collaborations with the healthcare pioneer in India  Apollo Hospitals  we will be able facilitate more studies and trials on these futuristic technologies 
At the release of the book  Dr  Pragatheeshwar was felicitated by Prof  Meer Mustafa Hussain  former Vice Chancellor  Dr  MGR Medical University  Tamilnadu  Dr  S  Asokan and T Raja Sr Consultant  Medical Oncologist  Apollo Speciality Cancer Hospital  Chennai and Prof  Manik Shahani  Advisor  SRM University
The first copy of this book was seen by Former President of India  Dr  APJ Abdul Kalam  Dr  Kalam expressed exuberant encouragement and appreciation on the groundbreaking work being done by Dr  Pragatheeshwar and his team on the gene therapy for cancer  In his speech at a medical convention  Dr  Kalam said   Today I received an email from Dr Pregatheeswar Thirunavukarasu  from University of Pittsburg  USA  who recently came to address the Science Congress at Chennai  He is an expert in gene therapy and has found a gene therapy for cancer  The results of his work are published in many reputed peer reviewed scientific journals  The early results are very promising  but there is a long way for them to go  He and his team are working on many ideas to fine tune the function of vaccinia virus and make it more effective and safe 
He further added   They are looking for opportunities to increase awareness and interest among the medical community in India and other countries about this method of cancer therapy  so that more research and clinical trials will happen  My greetings to him and his team for the success  If this successfully comes up  certainly there is a great revolution in cancer management    for the entire speech  please log on to www abdulkalam com 
The book is published by Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers in USA  India and worldwide  The book comes with an encrypted password for a website that hosts all high yield information including the Level of Evidence tables in the textbook  Video lectures by international experts will also be available in the website