Günter Köhler, Marek Zygmunt, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald.

Matthias Evert, Katja Evert, Universität Regensburg.

The subject matter of volume 1 of the 2-volumes-handbook focusses on leiomyosarcoma, low-grade and high-grade endometrial sarcoma and undifferentiated uterine sarcoma of the whole female genitalia. A separate extensive chapter is devoted to the variants of leiomyoma (angio-, lipo-, cotyledonoid, cellular, mitotically active, epithelioid and myxoid leiomyoma, leiomyoma with bizarre nuclei), atypical smooth muscle tumors (smooth muscle tumors with uncertain malignant potential), and disseminated peritoneal leiomyomatosis, benign metastasizing leiomyoma, and intravenous leiomyomatosis. Furthermore, endometrial stromal tumors - endometrial stromal nodules, endometrial stromal tumor with sex cord-like elements (ESTSCLE), uterine tumor resembling ovarian sex-cord tumor (UTROSCT) - and similar tumors are described in detail. The book provides a description at length of the epidemiology, etiology, pathological anatomy, prognosis, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, imaging and comprehensive therapy of each primary, relapsed, and metastasized tumor including surgery, chemo-, hormone- and radio- and targeted therapy. Another chapter is devoted to the prevention of subjecting sarcomas to inadequate surgical therapeutic measures under the assumed diagnosis of leiomyoma, and includes a diagnostic-therapeutic flowchart with a diagnostic score.

The book aims to identify and provide diagnostic and therapeutic guidance. The listed tumor entities also constitute a particular diagnostic challenge for pathologists that contains numerous pitfalls and difficulties. This book, therefore, addresses gynecologists and pathologists in both clinical and private practice, but also surgeons and hemato-oncologists.