The first edition of Childhood Leukemias was produced to meet a growing need for a comprehensive reference that would probe more deeply into important topics only touched upon by general or pediatric oncology texts. In the six years since its publication, I have been gratified by the positive responses of readers from around the globe, who have enthusiastically endorsed the book and have inquired about plans for a second edition. I was therefore pleased when Cambridge University Press asked me to undertake that task. In keeping with the basic editorial premise of the first edition – that readers will benefit most from a judicious blend of clinical and biological topics – this revised text includes eight new chapters. Three deal with the origins and challenges of chemoresistant leukemia, topics that are rapidly moving to the forefront of leukemia research. Two other chapters cover recent advances in therapy-related leukemias and in pain management, while the remaining three add much-needed discussions of the genetic syndromes predisposing to leukemia, treatment in countries with limited resources, and antibody-targeted therapy. The myelodysplastic syndromes, which represent a large fraction of the preleukemic diseases that continue to resist treatment, now occupy a single chapter, as do the chronic myeloproliferative disorders.

As you will notice, the emphasis on molecular mechanisms that characterized the first edition has been retained, reflecting my conviction that the path to better patient management lies in serious inquiry into the pathobiology of specific diseases.