125 Beams and the Rise of Radiation Therapy: The People, Landmark Discoveries, and Innovations that Shaped a Field

I find it difficult to know quite what to say about this book. It is certainly very expensive, and with 201 pages it has an RRP of £179.99. Amazon offers the book at £140.60, and curiously the Kindle price is more expensive at £170.99. These prices are high, even for Springer. At this price, even if the book were to be completely faultless, it is difficult to imagine that many people would purchase it. 

The blurb says this book “provides a communal look at the history of radiation therapy, detailing the significant developments and progress in efficacy of treatment. Radiation therapy has been used for more than 125 years and this book collects the research and writings of many clinicians and scientists to chronicle radiation therapy since its inception in 1895.” This is true up to a point. Essentially, it is a good history of post Second World War radiation oncology with an emphasis on the North American experience. This is done well. 

The book is more problematic in relation to the pre-war history, and in particular to the pioneer years. There are many omissions of important areas in the text. Part of my concern is that the history of radiation therapy is presented in a very positive manner, and areas and topics that are more controversial are avoided. This is fine if the aim is to celebrate the positive contributions of radiation in therapy, but is less helpful when an accurate historical presentation is needed. It is as if the authors are describing the military history of their country, and only describing the battles that were won.

An example of what is neglected is that the use of radiotherapy for benign disease, which was historically very important, is barely discussed. Examples include radiation treatments for ankylosing spondylitis, cosmetic depilation for unwanted hair and treatment of fungal infection of the scalp (tinea capitis or scalp ringworm). Other areas that are interesting are the use of external beam radiotherapy for bronchial asthma and hyperthyroidism.

The use of radiotherapy for inflammatory conditions such as tuberculosis is an interesting area and should have been discussed. In the early years, there was significant interest in radiotherapy for tuberculosis, either in tuberculosis of the face (lupus vulgaris) or in cervical lymph nodes (scrofula). Even in modern times, the work of Allan Cormack, who jointly received a Nobel Prize with Sir Godfrey Hounsfield for the discovery of CT, is not described, although CT is discussed. Cormack was an atomic physicist who became involved in radiotherapy, and was particularly concerned about how radiotherapy could be given to inhomogeneous fields. It was his work on such inhomogeneities that mirrored Hounsfield’s ideas and led to them jointly receiving the Nobel Prize for CT scanning. That CT scanning would be useful for radiotherapy planning was apparent right from the start.

What is more than a little surprising about this book is the large amount of space that is given to American social and political history. This emphasis seems unusual and out of place in a book on radiation therapy. It takes up valuable space in what is a short book.

So, in conclusion, as an expensive account of the history of more recent radiation therapy, this book is a useful addition and can be recommended. There is, however, still a need to document the history of radiation therapy and much work needs to be done, particularly covering the early years. 

To purchase this title at our discounted rate email: katherine@radmagazine.com.