Photodynamic therapy is a relatively new modality for the treatment of head and neck cancer, which utilises an intravenous photosensitiser prior to the delivery of light to the tumour site. Its use has mainly been in skin and lung cancer treatment; only 30 or so articles have been published on its use in head and neck cancer. This book is the first published text on the use of photodynamic therapy in head and neck disease.

Essentially, the book covers the current literature on photodynamic therapy in the head and neck, and provides practical points and tips on using photodynamic therapy, mostly derived from the author's extensive, first hand experience. There are chapters on the use of photodynamic therapy in specific cancer sites of the head and neck, but these are very brief, given the lack of publications in the current literature. The interesting chapters are those concerning the treatment of recurrent respiratory papillomas of the larynx and biofilm infection of the oral cavity. Here, photodynamic therapy may well be a viable alternative to more traditional methods, and hence there is a lot more substance in these sections.

At best, this book is a useful, albeit slightly expensive, introduction to the principles and applications of photodynamic therapy in the head and neck. Overall, however, this book may not be of much use to the majority of head and neck surgeons, given the limited application of photodynamic therapy in current practice.