India — Super-specialty Certification
Surgical oncology in India is certified through two equivalent 3-year super-specialty routes: the MCh (university degree, regulated by the NMC) and the DrNB (awarded by NBEMS). This guide covers what they are, the exam format, eligibility, the topics tested and how to prepare.
Content reviewed 26 August 2026 against current guidelines.
MCh Surgical Oncology is the university super-specialty degree, delivered over 3 years under the National Medical Commission (NMC); DrNB Surgical Oncology is the equivalent 3-year qualification awarded by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS). Both certify comprehensive surgical oncology competency in India, and both are entered via the NEET-SS after an MS or DNB in General Surgery.
There is no separate "FNB Surgical Oncology" — surgical oncology is certified only through the MCh and DrNB routes. The examinations assess the full breadth of the specialty through theory papers and a clinical/practical examination with viva.
MCh — Exit Examination
DrNB — Exit Examination
MCh and DrNB are equivalent qualifications but their exit exams differ (four theory papers for MCh versus three for DrNB). The DrNB super-specialty exam is held twice a year (recently April and October); MCh timing is set by each university.
Oncology Principles & Staging
AJCC 8th Edition TNM, biology and multidisciplinary care.
Gastrointestinal Oncology
Colorectal, gastric and oesophageal cancer surgery.
Breast & Endocrine
Breast cancer surgery, thyroid and endocrine tumours.
Hepatopancreatobiliary
Liver, pancreatic and biliary malignancy.
Soft Tissue & Bone
Sarcoma surgery, margins and compartmental resection.
Peritoneal & Rare Tumours
CRS and HIPEC, PMP and rare presentations.
The DrNB Surgical Oncology exit examination is held twice a year through NBEMS (recently April and October); MCh timing follows individual university calendars and is not nationally standardised.
Exam schedules and eligibility details change each cycle — always confirm the current requirements with NBEMS (natboard.edu.in) for DrNB, or your university and the NMC for MCh, before applying.
MCh and DrNB Surgical Oncology are the equivalent super-specialty credentials that define surgical oncology practice in India and are prerequisites for consultant surgical oncology posts.
Preparation demands structured oncological reasoning across every tumour site — precisely the applied decision-making the clinical/practical examination is designed to test.
Build structured oncological reasoning — staging, surgical principle, operative decision and systemic therapy context — for every tumour site. Master AJCC 8th Edition TNM, practise high-volume timed questions, and rehearse case presentations with MDT rationale for the viva.
SurgBoardsQ&A offers more than 7,300 surgical oncology practice questions covering the full MCh/DrNB syllabus, each with a detailed, guideline-referenced explanation.
Both are 3-year super-specialty routes with a theory-plus-clinical exit exam. MCh (university/NMC) has four theory papers plus a clinical/practical examination with viva; DrNB (NBEMS) has three theory papers (300 marks) plus an OSCE/clinical and viva (300 marks). The DrNB super-specialty exam is held twice a year; MCh timing is set by each university. There is no separate "FNB Surgical Oncology".
Yes — 50 practice questions are free with no credit card required.
Every question is written by Pablo Lozano Lominchar, MD, PhD, and mapped to this board’s published syllabus. Before it enters the bank it has to pass an automated check: five options, a written explanation, and a citation — a named society guideline or a named trial. Benign and functional topics cannot be published without a society guideline; oncological ones cite NCCN, ESMO or AJCC, and the classification systems that govern a topic — Bethesda, TIRADS, Atlanta, Prague, Chicago — have to appear where they apply. The author has audited the full active bank against current guideline versions: what fails is re-cited, rewritten or withdrawn. 650 questions are currently withdrawn and are served to nobody.
SurgBoardsQ&A provides more than 7,300 practice questions mapped to the exam syllabus, each with a detailed explanation and guideline citation.
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50 questions free, no credit card required. Filter by board, topic, or difficulty. Explanations cite ESMO and NCCN.