Patients with cancer are often treated by multidisciplinary collaboration between many specialities where thorough knowledge about cancer, and surgical expertise is necessary. Most European surgeons with an interest in surgical oncology were trained according to their local organisations and national regulations. Formal education as per a national training programme is rare and little collaborative effort has taken place within Europe to standardize training between the relevant national surgical societies. The outcome measure of completion of training is vague. Surgical oncology is at present only recognised by a few European countries. Training in surgical oncology has been guided by tradition and common sense rather than by specific aims within the framework of a recognised internationally established core curriculum. Any educational initiative has to be delivered during restricted working hours as determined by European regulation. Accordingly, the actual number of surgical procedures that each trainee will perform under supervision is limited. A modern core curriculum necessitates an evidence-based approach, rather than common sense medicine.