Indian Association of Surgical Oncology (IASO) is the largest professional body of cancer surgeons of India. IASO came in to existence more than four decades ago. The birth and growth of IASO run parallel with the growth of the specialty of surgical oncology in India. IASO has done a significant role in the development of specialty of surgical oncology in India by promoting academic interactions and sharing of knowledge among cancer surgeons in India and abroad.
Birth of IASO
It is close to five decades now that Surgical Oncology emerged as an important subspecialty in India. Before the development of the specialty of surgical oncology, cancer surgery in India was in a nascent phase. Indian Cancer Research Centre (ICRC) was established in 1952 in Parel, Mumbai. It was under the Ministry of Health, Government of India. In 1966, ICRC was renamed as the Cancer Research Institute (CRI).This was then joined with the Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) which was commissioned by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust on 28 February 1941. Tata Memorial Hospital was thus formed and was the first comprehensive cancer care facility in India, financed by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India.
Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkatta (1950), Cancer Institute (WIA)-Adyar, Chennai (1952), Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute (GCRI), Ahmedabad (1972), Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore (1973), and Regional Cancer Centre-Trivandrum (1981) were the next prominent cancer centers established. The first Continuing Medical Education (CME) program in surgical oncology was held by Tata Memorial Hospital in 1975 and was attended by 200 surgeons from all over the country. Success of this program motivated Dr. B Ramamurthy, the then President of Association of Surgeons of India (ASI), to invite Dr. Ashok Mehta to organize the first CME program in Surgical Oncology at Ahmedabad in December 1975. He did that and the CME was very successful. Dr. Ashok Mehta then wrote to ASI for starting Surgical Oncology section of ASI. A resolution was passed by ASI and the Surgical Oncology Section of ASI was created at the Annual ASI Conference in Delhi in 1976. Thus, Indian Association of Surgical Oncology was formed. Dr. D. J. Jussawalla was the founder President; Dr. Ashok Mehta was the founder Secretary; and Dr. N. C. Misra was the founder Editor (Figs. 1, 2, and 3).
Fig. 1.
Photo of Dr. DJ Jussawalla
Fig. 2.
Photo of Dr. Ashok Mehta
Fig. 3.
Photo of Dr. NC Misra
Initial Years
During the initial years, Indian Association of Surgical Oncology (IASO) gave importance for propagating Surgical Oncology as a subspecialty giving specialized training in cancer surgery and cancer care to general surgeons. Initially, the association gave importance for organizing CMEs and other training programs for surgeons involved in cancer care. Keeping in mind the role of multidisciplinary cancer care, the members of IASO also helped in developing the other societies in Oncology like Indian Association of Cancer Chemotherapy (which later became Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology), the Indian Society of Oncology. Later on, in addition to this, IASO also gave importance to other academic activities by associating with other Indian societies in the cancer field like Indian Society of Oncology (ISO), Association of Radiation Oncologists of India (AROI), and Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology (ISMPO) and promoting international relations with surgical oncology societies in other countries. Incidentally, the growth of IASO ran parallel to the National Cancer Control Program (NCCP) of India, which is a centrally sponsored scheme by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. NCCP gave thrust for supporting the regional cancer centers in India and to upgrade the state level and district level facilities to provide comprehensive cancer care. IASO also started publishing its newsletter regularly from 1979.
Indian Association of Surgical Oncology conducted the first sectional conference outside India from the 8th to the 10th of June, 1994 in Nepal in association with Nepal Cancer Society. This was the first IASO meeting held outside India. Along with this, a cancer detection camp also was conducted at Kathmandu on the 8th to the 10th of June, 1994. The CME programs were conducted at Bhakatpur, Benapur, and Imperial Staff College at Patan. The Honorable Prime Minister of Nepal inaugurated the conference on the 8th of June, 1994 and hosted a reception for the members of IASO and Nepal Cancer Society.
Under the aegis of IASO, the 16th International Cancer Congress (UICC) was conducted for the first time in India in the year 1994 at Delhi. The organizing secretary was Dr. P. B. Desai. The congress was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India.
IASO and MCh Surgical Oncology Training Program in India
Members of IASO felt the need for structured teaching and training program in Surgical Oncology and took up the challenge. Subsequently, the MCh Surgical Oncology program was started at Cancer Institute (WIA)-Adyar Chennai in 1984, Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute (GCRI) Ahmedabad in 1987, and Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore in 1989. Dr. S. Krishnamurthy in Cancer Institute (WIA)-Adyar, Chennai, Dr. D. D. Patel in GCRI, Ahmedabad, Dr. K. S. Gopinath, and Dr. Krishna Bhargava in Kidwai Memorial Institute, Bangalore, and Dr. N. C. Misra in King George’s Medical College, Lucknow were the masterminds behind the program s in the respective centers. Later, a number of cancer surgery training seats steadfastly increased in the country. Most training programs in cancer surgery were led by prominent leaders and members of IASO. Today, every year 202 MCh seats and 50 DNB seats are available for training in cancer surgery India [https://www.nmc.org.in/information-desk/college-and-course-search, https://accr.natboard.edu.in/online_user/frontpage.php?v=4].
IASO and International Societies
IASO was one of the 23 Surgical Oncology societies constituted in the World Federation of Surgical Oncology Societies (WFSOS). IASO was represented by Dr. D. D. Patel and Dr. H. S. Shukla. They attended the WFSO meeting in Dublin, Ireland in 1997. In 2006, Dr. H. S. Shukla was elected as the president of WFSOS. Dr. D. D. Patel had put in great effort for collaboration with British Association of Surgical Oncology (BASO), and the first major participation of the BASO with its office bearers took place in NATCON IASO 2003 at Lucknow, organized by Dr. N. C. Misra, Dr. Arun Chaturvedi, and Dr. Sanjeev Misra.
Subsequently, IASO developed close ties with Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO), USA, and Dr. Chandrakant Are was instrumental in the process. As we pen this article, IASO is in the process of developing close ties with the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO) and the Brazilian Society of Surgical Oncology (BSSO).
Fellowship Programs
In 1997, IASO-Baroda Travelling Fellowship was started to give financial support and other logistical support to a young Indian cancer surgeon to have clinical attachment and training at a reputed cancer center in India for a period of 1 month. It was renamed as Baroda-GCRI Minimal Access Surgery Fellowship, and it was decided to have the training at GEMS Hospital, Coimbatore from 2008 onwards till 2012 and after that the training is provided at Basavatakaram Indo-American Cancer Hospital (BIACH), Hyderabad.
The IASO commenced a visiting fellowship program to Detroit Medical Centre, Wayne State University from the year 2000 onwards. Dr. Donald Weaver was instrumental in commencing this fellowship program. Dr. Somesh Chandra from Ahmedabad was the first selected candidate. IASO started a fellowship with British Association of Surgical Oncology and the first fellowship was awarded to Dr. K. Chandramohan from Trivandrum in 2011.
A Memorandum of Association (MOU) was signed with Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO), USA to send five of our young members to present their posters at the Annual SSO Conference in 2019. A prestigious International Career Development Exchange (ICDE) fellowship program was started at SSO where the award winner not only presents his poster but also visits a reputed cancer center in the USA.
A MOU was also signed with ESSO in 2019, by which they invite one IASO member to present the poster during the annual ESSO Conference. The eligibility criterion for ESSO fellowship is that an applicant should be a young (age 40 or less) surgical oncologist from India who is a member of IASO.
All the above awardees are selected during the National Conference of Association (IASO NATCON) based on the merit of presentation during the awards session, and they are financially supported by IASO apart from the host organization.
IASO Annual and Midterm Conference
Earlier, the National Conference of IASO (NATCON IASO) was held during the Annual Conference of ASI (ASICON) in December. IASO started conducting Midterm conferences from the year 1982 which was held every 2 years. From 1991 onwards, it was decided to conduct one Midterm meeting every year. From 1998 onwards, Midterm meeting was changed to National Meeting of IASO and called the IASO-National Conference (NATCON). Later, it was decided to conduct one Midterm meeting in March and NATCON in September every year. There was a sectional program of IASO during the national meeting of Association of Surgeons of India (ASICON) in December. Currently, IASO continues to have a 3-h session in Surgical Oncology during ASICON.
Orations in NATCON IASO
The following prestigious orations and lectures are delivered at the annual national meeting of IASO by eminent faculty, as follows:
Radha Devi Oration — This oration is delivered by the Past President of IASO. The oration was instituted by donation from the family of Dr. S. P. Jain.
Dr. Motibai Patel Oration — This oration was supported by the one-time donation by Dr. D.D. Patel and his family.
Prof. N. C. Misra Oration — This oration is delivered preferably by an eminent foreign speaker. The award was constituted by a one-time donation from the students of Prof. N. C. Misra.
Dr. P. B. Desai — UICC — Silver Jubilee Oration — This was initiated after the UICC meeting by Dr. P. B. Desai at the Silver Jubilee year of IASO by a one-time donation.
Dr. R. S. Rao Endowment Lecture — This lecture was instituted in his memory and supported by a generous one-time donation from his family.
Dr. K. S. Panda–Dr. K. S. Gopinath Quiz Award
This is a quiz competition in surgical oncology, which is being conducted during NATCON IASO. This was instituted based on the donation by Dr. K. S Panda and Dr. K. S. Gopinath. The first price and runner up are awarded to two young surgical oncologists based on their performance in the quiz competition.
IJSO
Indian Journal of Surgical Oncology (IJSO) is the official journal of IASO and was initiated by great efforts from Dr. K. S. Gopinath, Dr. Sanjay Sharma, and others. The resolution to start the journal was approved in 2008 by the IASO with Dr. Sanjay Sharma as President and Dr. Sanjeev Misra as Secretary of IASO. Dr. K. S. Gopinath was the founder Editor in Chief and has worked tirelessly to bring IJSO to the present status. This journal is indexed by PubMed Central and other indexing agencies.
Indian Cancer Congress
Indian Cancer Congress (ICC) was started in 2013 to be held once in 4 years. It is a collaborative meeting of IASO, Indian Society of Oncology (ISO), Association of Radiation Oncologists of India (AROI), Indian Society of Medical and Pediatric Oncologists (ISMPO), and other Oncology societies across the globe as collaborative partners. In 2013, ICC was conducted at New Delhi and in 2017 at Bangalore. In 2023, the IASO is the main host of ICC to be held in Mumbai.
IASO Today
IASO is the only professional body representing the entire Surgical Oncology community in India. It has nearly 2000 members. All prominent cancer surgeons of India are members of IASO. The National Conference (NATCON IASO) is attended by nearly 800–1000 delegates every year. Apart from the NATCON, IASO conducts one Midterm meeting and many Regional and Zonal meetings. Today, IASO Academic Council under the leadership of Dr. T. S. Rao conducts biweekly online masterclasses for the benefit of postgraduate trainees and our young members. Through its members, IASO finds its place in many national committees deciding the curriculum for training in cancer surgery and guidelines for cancer treatment. It is a prominent partner of the National Cancer Grid (NCG). IASO is also a partner of the Global Forum of surgical oncologists.
We still have miles to go, as there is A shortage of trained surgical oncologists in India. There are plans to initiate subspecialty fellowship programs post-mch/dnb to enable them to pursue and excel in that particular subspecialty.
The future of IASO is bright due to the vision of our leadership and with more than 200 young Surgical Oncology trainees joining our membership every year.
Long live IASO!!!
Declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Footnotes
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Contributor Information
K. Chandramohan, Email: drchandramohan@gmail.com
Rajendra Toprani, Email: rajendratoprani@hotmail.com.