ABS CGSO study guide
ABS CGSO · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The ABS Complex General Surgical Oncology (CGSO) credential is a subspecialty certificate for surgeons who already hold primary certification in general surgery and who have completed an ACGME-accredited complex general surgical oncology fellowship. The ABS describes the certified CGSO surgeon as possessing specific knowledge and skills in the diagnosis, multidisciplinary treatment, and rehabilitation of patients with cancer, especially complex presentations, cancers requiring complex general surgical oncology procedures, and rare or unusual cancers. The ABS CGSO study guide has 4 sections and about 1,079 words.
01Diagnosis of Cancer, Including Complex Presentations and Rare or Unusual Cancers
Diagnosis rests on the sequence: history and risk assessment → targeted examination → imaging → tissue confirmation → staging. Candidates must know that tissue diagnosis is the default before definitive therapy , with narrow exceptions (e.g., some radiologically diagnostic tumors such as typical hepatocellular carcinoma in a cirrhotic liver, or when biopsy risks unacceptable seeding/bleeding).
306 words, about 2 min02Multidisciplinary Treatment of the Cancer Patient
Modern oncology is delivered by a multidisciplinary team (MDT) : surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, radiology, nursing, and allied health. Candidates must understand when each modality is curative vs palliative , and how they combine: neoadjuvant (before surgery), adjuvant (after), concurrent chemoradiation, and definitive non-surgical treatment.
273 words, about 1 min03Rehabilitation Required by Patients With Cancer
Rehabilitation is multidisciplinary and longitudinal , beginning at diagnosis and continuing through treatment and survivorship. Domains include physical (mobility, strength, lymphedema, fatigue), functional (ADLs, return to work), psychological (distress, anxiety, depression), and social (financial toxicity, caregiver burden).
242 words, about 1 min04Cancer Prevention, Outreach, and Research
Prevention has three levels: primary (reduce incidence-vaccination, tobacco control, lifestyle), secondary (early detection-screening), and tertiary (reduce recurrence/complications after treatment). Know evidence-based screening: cervical (HPV vaccination plus cytology/HPV testing), colorectal (FIT, colonoscopy, stool DNA), breast (mammography in defined age groups), and lung (low-dose CT in high-risk smokers).
258 words, about 1 min