IASO, National Cancer Grid sign pact to expand specialised training, fellowships for cancer surgeons
Mumbai, Oct 22 (TNT) : The Indian Association of Surgical Oncology (IASO) and the National Cancer Grid (NCG) on Thursday entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a structured nationwide framework for specialised surgical oncology training, advanced fellowships, and clinical mentorship for the next generation of cancer surgeons.
The collaboration stems from a proposal initiated by Dr. C.S. Pramesh, Director of Tata Memorial Hospital and Convener of the National Cancer Grid, supported by IASO President and Medical Director of Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital & Research Institute (BIACH&RI), Dr. T. Subramanyeshwar Rao.
Under the partnership, IASO and NCG will pool institutional infrastructure and clinical expertise across NCG-affiliated cancer centres nationwide to offer young surgical oncologists structured exposure to complex operative procedures.
Core focus areas under the framework include:
* Hands-on training in advanced surgical oncology techniques, minimally invasive procedures, and robotic surgery.
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Joint fellowship curricula and resident exchange programmes across leading oncology centres.
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Continuous medical education (CME) via structured masterclasses, operative workshops, webinars, and multidisciplinary tumor board exposure.
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Multicentre academic collaboration and collaborative clinical oncology research.
“Building a strong and skilled surgical oncology workforce is essential to improving cancer care outcomes across India,” said Dr. C.S. Pramesh.
“This collaboration between the National Cancer Grid and IASO is an important step towards creating structured training and fellowship opportunities, enabling young surgeons to learn directly from leading specialists and top-tier institutions to standardize high surgical benchmarks nationwide,” Dr Pramesh added.
Dr. T. Subramanyeshwar Rao noted that modern oncological surgery requires continuous adaptation to rapidly evolving surgical and robotic platforms.
“Through this collaboration, we aim to bridge the gap between academic theory and high-volume clinical practice. By bringing institutions and domain expertise closer together, we hope to build the technical competencies and clinical confidence necessary to deliver equitable, high-quality cancer care across the country,” he said.
The pact was signed in the presence of prominent surgical oncologists, including Dr. Narendra Hulikal (Professor & HoD, SVIMS, Tirupati), Dr. Chandramohan (Professor & HoD, Sree Mookambika Institute of Medical Sciences, Thiruvananthapuram), and Dr. Subbaiah Shanmugham (Professor & HoD, Government Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai).
TNT KM
