Skip to content
Medical Thesis Topics

MCh · DrNB

50 MCh Surgical Oncology Thesis Topics

Academic session 2026-2027  · 50 topics

This page lists 50 surgical oncology thesis topics for MCh and DrNB candidates in India for the 2026-2027 academic session. Surgical oncology research within a residency cannot reach survival endpoints, but it can reach almost everything that happens around the operation — stage at presentation, resectability, margin status, nodal yield, complications and short term function.

The surgical oncology thesis topics below are built on those. They cover breast, head and neck, gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, gynaecological, thoracic and soft tissue malignancy, together with sentinel node techniques, neoadjuvant response, perioperative outcome and the delay and abandonment questions specific to Indian practice.

Click any topic to open it in the protocol generator with the title already filled in.

Want more than 50 topics? Browse the full Surgical Oncology database
  1. A cross-sectional study of the stage at presentation among patients with carcinoma of the breastGet protocol
  2. An observational study of the interval from first symptom to definitive treatment in breast carcinomaGet protocol
  3. A study of the clinicopathological profile and receptor status of patients undergoing breast surgeryGet protocol
  4. An observational study of sentinel lymph node identification rate and accuracy in breast carcinomaGet protocol
  5. A comparative study of complications between breast conservation surgery and mastectomyGet protocol
  6. A study of seroma formation and its determinants following axillary dissectionGet protocol
  7. An observational study of shoulder function following axillary surgery assessed at three monthsGet protocol
  8. A cross-sectional study of the pathological response following neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast carcinomaGet protocol
  9. A study of margin positivity and re-excision rates following breast conserving surgeryGet protocol
  10. An observational study of quality of life following breast cancer surgery assessed by a validated instrumentGet protocol
  11. A cross-sectional study of the clinicopathological profile of patients with oral cavity malignancyGet protocol
  12. An observational study of the pattern of cervical nodal metastasis in oral cancerGet protocol
  13. A study of margin status and its determinants following resection for oral malignancyGet protocol
  14. An observational study of complications following major head and neck resection and reconstructionGet protocol
  15. A cross-sectional study of the stage at presentation among patients with laryngeal malignancyGet protocol
  16. A study of swallowing and speech outcome following head and neck cancer surgeryGet protocol
  17. An observational study of tobacco and alcohol use among patients with head and neck malignancyGet protocol
  18. A cross-sectional study of the clinicopathological profile of patients with thyroid malignancyGet protocol
  19. An observational study of complications following total thyroidectomy for malignancyGet protocol
  20. A cross-sectional study of the clinicopathological profile of patients with gastric carcinomaGet protocol
  21. An observational study of lymph node yield and its determinants following gastrectomyGet protocol
  22. A study of the perioperative outcome of patients undergoing resection for gastric malignancyGet protocol
  23. A cross-sectional study of the stage and clinicopathological profile of colorectal carcinomaGet protocol
  24. An observational study of anastomotic leak and its determinants following colorectal resectionGet protocol
  25. A study of the outcome of stoma creation and its complications in colorectal surgeryGet protocol
  26. An observational study of the pathological response following neoadjuvant therapy in rectal carcinomaGet protocol
  27. A cross-sectional study of the clinical profile of patients with carcinoma of the oesophagusGet protocol
  28. An observational study of the perioperative outcome following oesophagectomyGet protocol
  29. A cross-sectional study of the clinical profile of patients undergoing hepatic resection for malignancyGet protocol
  30. An observational study of the perioperative outcome following pancreaticoduodenectomyGet protocol
  31. A study of postoperative pancreatic fistula and its determinantsGet protocol
  32. An observational study of the clinical profile of patients with gallbladder carcinomaGet protocol
  33. A cross-sectional study of the presentation and resectability of hepatobiliary malignancyGet protocol
  34. A cross-sectional study of the clinicopathological profile of patients with ovarian malignancyGet protocol
  35. An observational study of optimal cytoreduction rates in advanced ovarian carcinomaGet protocol
  36. A study of the perioperative outcome following radical hysterectomy for cervical malignancyGet protocol
  37. An observational study of the clinical profile of patients with endometrial carcinomaGet protocol
  38. A cross-sectional study of the clinicopathological profile of patients with soft tissue sarcomaGet protocol
  39. An observational study of margin status and local recurrence risk factors in extremity sarcomaGet protocol
  40. A study of limb salvage and functional outcome following sarcoma resectionGet protocol
  41. An observational study of the surgical management of patients with retroperitoneal massesGet protocol
  42. A cross-sectional study of the clinical profile of patients undergoing thoracic surgical resection for malignancyGet protocol
  43. An observational study of the surgical management of patients with genitourinary malignancyGet protocol
  44. A cross-sectional study of complications graded by an established classification following major cancer surgeryGet protocol
  45. An observational study of the length of hospital stay and its determinants after oncological resectionGet protocol
  46. A study of unplanned readmission within thirty days of cancer surgeryGet protocol
  47. An observational study of the time from diagnosis to surgery and its determinantsGet protocol
  48. A study of treatment abandonment among patients advised surgical management for malignancyGet protocol
  49. A cross-sectional study of out of pocket expenditure among patients undergoing cancer surgeryGet protocol
  50. An observational study of nutritional status and its association with postoperative outcome in cancer surgeryGet protocol

Reached the end of the list?

Thousands more Surgical Oncology thesis topics, updated through the year.

More Surgical Oncology topics on superspecialitythesistopics.com

Choosing a MCh Surgical Oncology thesis topic

What outcomes can a surgical oncology thesis measure?

Stage at presentation, resection margin status, lymph node yield and positivity, operative time and blood loss, complications graded on an established classification, length of stay, thirty day morbidity and readmission, and pathological response to neoadjuvant therapy. Disease free and overall survival require years and cannot be delivered inside a residency.

Is stage at presentation a worthwhile research subject?

In the Indian setting it is among the most valuable. A high proportion of patients present with locally advanced disease, and documenting the stage distribution, the interval from first symptom to definitive treatment, and the reasons for delay produces findings directly relevant to local service design. No imported literature answers this for an Indian population.

What sample size is realistic in surgical oncology?

Breast and head and neck volumes at a dedicated cancer unit support one to three hundred cases over eighteen months. Hepatobiliary, thoracic and sarcoma caseloads accumulate far more slowly, and studies restricted to those should be planned as descriptive series covering every case operated during the study period.

Thesis and protocol questions

How is a thesis topic different from a thesis protocol?

The topic is the title — the question a study sets out to answer, together with the population and the design. The protocol is the full document built around it: background, review of literature, aims and objectives, inclusion and exclusion criteria, sample size calculation, methodology, statistical plan, ethics considerations, consent documents and references. A topic is agreed with a guide first; the protocol is written afterwards and submitted to the institutional ethics committee.

When does a postgraduate thesis have to be submitted?

For most Indian postgraduate programmes the protocol is submitted within the first six months of joining, and the completed thesis is submitted at least six months before the final examination. Exact deadlines are set by the university, so the departmental circular for the current session takes precedence over any general timeline.

How is sample size decided for a postgraduate thesis?

Sample size follows from the primary objective, not the other way round. A prevalence study is powered from an expected proportion and an acceptable margin of error; a comparative study is powered from the expected difference between groups, the standard deviation, alpha and desired power. The figure should then be checked against the institution's actual case load for the study period, because a statistically ideal sample that cannot be recruited in the time available is not a workable plan.

Does a thesis topic need ethics committee approval?

Yes. Every postgraduate thesis involving human participants, human data or human samples requires clearance from the institutional ethics committee before data collection begins. Approval is granted on the protocol rather than on the title, and the submission usually includes the protocol, the participant information sheet and the consent form in English and in the local language.

What makes a topic realistic for a three-year postgraduate programme?

A workable topic can be completed at a single centre, with equipment and investigations that are already available in routine practice, within roughly eighteen months of data collection. Topics that depend on external funding, specialised assays, multicentre coordination or long follow-up tend to stall. Choosing a condition the department already sees in volume matters more than choosing a novel one.

Can a thesis be published as a research paper afterwards?

Yes, and it is generally expected. A thesis is usually condensed into a paper of around three to four thousand words, restructured into the standard introduction, methods, results and discussion format, with the review of literature shortened considerably. Journals differ in their requirements, and the ethics approval number from the original thesis is normally cited in the methods section.

Picked a topic? Generate the protocol