Egyptian Board Clinical Oncology study guide
Egyptian Board Clinical Oncology · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Egyptian Board in Clinical Oncology is a national postgraduate qualification for physicians who have completed clinical oncology training and want formal recognition of their competence in the non-surgical management of cancer. Candidates are typically oncology residents or recently qualified specialists working in Egyptian university, National Cancer Institute, or Ministry of Health settings, and the credential is used for career progression, hospital appointment, and academic posts. The Egyptian Board Clinical Oncology study guide has 11 sections and about 4,877 words.
01Medical Oncology: Systemic Therapy and Drug Classes
Medical Oncology questions ask you to select a systemic regimen, justify it with a biomarker or trial result, and predict the toxicity or dose adjustment that follows. Expect mechanism-of-action items on drug classes, cross-class toxicity comparisons, and one or two calculation stems such as carboplatin dosing.
410 words, about 2 min02Radiation Oncology: Physics, Techniques, and Indications
Physics fundamentals and how they translate into a prescription: dose definitions, photon interaction, fractionation biology, technique selection (3DCRT, IMRT/VMAT, SBRT, SRS, brachytherapy, protons) and the evidence-based indications for each. Calculation stems on BED and EQD2 are common.
422 words, about 2 min03Breast Cancer
Breast cancer items test subtype-driven decision-making: when genomic assays change adjuvant chemotherapy, how nodal surgery has de-escalated, which patients need post-mastectomy radiotherapy, and how the HER2, triple-negative and hormone-receptor pathways dictate successive lines in metastatic disease. Subtypes by receptor: HR+/HER2−, HER2+, triple-negative.
385 words, about 2 min04Thoracic Oncology (Lung, Pleura, Mediastinum)
Thoracic items test stage-directed therapy in non-small cell lung cancer, biomarker-driven first-line selection, the locally advanced paradigm, small cell lung cancer paradigms, and the distinct biology of mesothelioma and thymic tumors. NSCLC staging (TNM 8th edition) drives treatment: stage I–II surgery with SBRT offered for medically inoperable early disease and as an option for small peripheral tumors; stage III is heterogeneous and generally chemoradiation followed by consolidation durvalumab (PACIFIC); stage IV is systemic.
373 words, about 2 min05Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Oncology
This domain tests site-specific adjuvant and metastatic algorithms across colorectal, esophagogastric, pancreatic, hepatocellular and biliary cancers, with heavy emphasis on molecular selection (RAS/BRAF, MSI-H, HER2, FGFR2, IDH1) and on liver-directed therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma. Colon: stage III and high-risk stage II receive adjuvant FOLFOX or CAPOX; three months of CAPOX is acceptable for low-risk stage III (IDEA).
384 words, about 2 min06Genitourinary Oncology
Genitourinary items span prostate risk stratification and the hormone-sensitive to castration-resistant transition, muscle-invasive bladder therapy, first-line kidney cancer combinations, and germ cell tumor risk classification with its curability caveats. Prostate risk groups combine PSA, Gleason/ISUP grade group and clinical T stage.
419 words, about 2 min07Gynecologic Oncology
Gynecologic items test upfront surgical management versus neoadjuvant chemotherapy in ovarian cancer, molecular classification of endometrial cancer, the chemoradiation paradigm in cervix cancer, and the germ cell and gestational trophoblastic entities that respond to chemotherapy alone. Ovarian: high-grade serous carcinoma is the dominant histology.
386 words, about 2 min08Hematologic Malignancies and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Hematology items test diagnosis-linked urgent treatment, response-adapted therapy, molecular monitoring in chronic leukemias, and the indications, types and complications of stem cell transplantation. Acute promyelocytic leukemia with t(15;17)/PML-RARA is an emergency: start all-trans retinoic acid on suspicion, before confirmation, plus arsenic trioxide in low/intermediate risk, and support coagulopathy aggressively.
410 words, about 2 min09Head and Neck Oncology and CNS Tumors
This domain pairs mucosal head and neck cancer - where radiotherapy technique, chemotherapy radiosensitization and HPV status decide outcomes - with CNS tumors, where molecular classification, the Stupp paradigm and the management of brain metastases are the recurring themes. Head and neck: HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer has a distinct staging system and better prognosis.
413 words, about 2 min10Pediatric and Adolescent Oncology
Pediatric items test protocol-driven, risk-adapted multimodality therapy in a growing child, where dose is calculated per kilogram or per square metre, late effects and fertility matter, and the tolerance of normal tissue differs from adults. Common entities and their pillars: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (risk-stratified multiagent chemotherapy with intrathecal therapy; CAR-T and blinatumomab for relapsed disease), Wilms tumor (nephrectomy plus risk-adapted chemotherapy ± flank radiotherapy), neuroblastoma (MYCN amplification, INRG risk grouping, MIBG imaging), medulloblastoma (molecular groups WNT, SHH, group 3, group 4; craniospinal irradiation plus chemotherapy), retinoblastoma (HER2-independent, RB1-driven; intra-arterial chemotherapy or enucleation), osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma (neoadjuvant chemotherapy with surgery ± radiotherapy), rhabdomyosarcoma (fusion status and group determine radiotherapy).
413 words, about 2 min11Supportive Care
Supportive care items test prophylaxis and management of treatment toxicity - emesis, febrile neutropenia, mucositis, bone health, tumor lysis, anemia and fertility - where the answer is usually a specific threshold, agent or timing rule. Antiemesis: match to emetogenic risk.
862 words, about 4 min