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The NBE curriculum list, reproduced exactly, plus the editions residents actually read in 2026 — with journals, a year-wise reading plan, and the references you will need for your thesis and exit practical.
Doing the DM instead? The same superspecialty is covered at DM Medical Oncology books.
These 34 titles are reproduced as they appear in the National Board of Examinations curriculum document for Medical Oncology — spelling and abbreviations included. Treat it as the scope anchor, not as a shopping list.
Source: National Board of Examinations curriculum document for Medical Oncology
The books most residents actually buy. These are the editions in circulation now, with a note on whether each is something you read through, keep as a reference, or open only for the viva.
Journal club and the recent-advances parts of the theory paper come from here. You do not need all of them — follow one Indian and two international titles properly.
Three years of superspecialty training goes faster than it sounds, and most of it is spent on the floor. The order below is what works for most DrNB Medical Oncology residents.
Read Abeloff for breadth and Williams Hematology for the haematology base; learn AJCC staging and the CTCAE. Register thesis and start reading landmark trials.
Move to DeVita for disease-site depth, work through the Chemotherapy Source Book during ward rotations, and add HSCT reading during the transplant posting.
Consolidate with NCCN/ESMO guidelines, revise DeVita selectively, drill smear/marrow and PET-CT spots, and do timed short-note practice.
Protocol, methodology and reporting standards examiners expect you to have followed.
Cases, spotters and stations that come up again and again in the exit exam.
DrNB Medical Oncology theory is three papers of 100 marks each, three hours per paper, in the short-notes format, with 150/300 to pass; the practical carries a further 300 marks and follows theory. The practical combines clinical cases and/or OSCE with viva. Expect strong emphasis on staging, guideline-based treatment planning, chemotherapy dosing and interpretation of marrow, flow cytometry, molecular and PET-CT reports.
The National Board of Examinations curriculum for Medical Oncology lists 34 titles, beginning with Molecular Diagnosis of Cancer , COTTER.F.E.. The full list is reproduced on this page exactly as it is published.
DeVita, Hellman and Rosenberg's Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology by DeVita, Lawrence, Rosenberg is the usual anchor. The reference standard for disease-site oncology and the backbone of theory preparation.
DrNB Medical Oncology is a superspecialty course taken after a broad-specialty MD, MS or DNB, so the reading is narrower and deeper. The broad-specialty texts are assumed knowledge by the time you start.
No. Most residents own two or three and use the department or library copy for the rest. That is exactly why printing selected chapters from a PDF works out cheaper than buying volumes you will open twice.
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