Dr. Rohan Shetty, surgical oncologist and robotic surgeon

MBBS · MS (Gen. Surg) · MRCS (Edin.) · FRCS (Glasgow) · FACS · FSSO

Precision in the fight against cancer

Dr. Rohan Shetty is a surgical oncologist and robotic surgeon in Mangalore, performing complex cancer surgeries across all major organ systems for over 18 years.

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Years of experience

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Major surgeries performed

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Scientific publications

2016

Robotic surgeon since

About

Meet Dr. Rohan Shetty

Dr. Rohan Shetty, surgical oncologist, at a robotic surgery console in Mangalore

Dr. Rohan Shetty is an established surgical oncologist in Mangalore with more than 18 years of experience, focusing on complex cancer surgeries involving all major organ systems. A trained robotic surgeon since 2016, he regularly performs robotic and minimal access surgeries.

As an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgical Oncology at Yenepoya Medical College Hospital, he is a recognized guide for MCh postgraduates and PhD candidates, and a regular speaker at national conferences on surgical oncology, robotic surgery, and innovation in healthcare.

Beyond the operating theatre, he is a passionate researcher and the co-founder of the startup Emys Bionics Pvt Ltd, which develops patient-specific implants, surgical devices, and rehabilitation solutions for cancer patients. He is an ardent believer in cost-effective, patient-friendly treatment and has volunteered in numerous cancer awareness and screening camps.

Expertise

Areas of specialisation

Head & Neck Oncology

Comprehensive surgical management of head and neck cancers

Breast Oncology

Breast cancer surgery including sentinel lymph node mapping

G.I. Oncology

Gastrointestinal cancer surgery for all major organ systems

Urological & Gynecological Oncology

Surgical treatment of urological and gynecological cancers

Robotic & Minimal Access Surgery

Trained robotic surgeon performing robotic surgeries since 2016

Endoscopy & Colonoscopy

Skilled in upper G.I. endoscopy and colonoscopy

Robotic Surgery

The future of surgery, today

Performing robotic and minimal access cancer surgeries since 2016, Dr. Shetty combines surgical precision with cutting-edge technology to offer patients faster recovery, less pain, and better outcomes.

Dr. Rohan Shetty operating the SSI Mantra robotic surgery console

At the SSI Mantra robotic surgical console

Dr. Rohan Shetty with an advanced robotic surgery training system

With an advanced robotic surgical system

Experience

Professional journey

AUG 2008 – PRESENT

Consultant Surgical Oncologist

Mangalore, India

Practising surgical oncologist focusing on head & neck, breast, G.I., urological and gynecological oncology. Over 9000 major and supra-major oncology surgeries performed independently. Skilled in upper G.I. endoscopy and colonoscopy, and regularly performing robotic surgeries since 2016.

JUN 2026 – PRESENT

Professor, Surgical Oncology

Zulekha Yenepoya Institute of Oncology, Yenepoya Medical College Hospital, Mangalore

OPD consultations, preoperative work-up, surgery and postoperative care of cancer patients. Performing complex surgical oncology work and robotic & minimal access surgeries. Training MCh Surgical Oncology postgraduates, mentoring PhD candidates, and serving as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator in research projects and clinical trials.

OCT 2020 – MAY 2026

Associate Professor, Surgical Oncology

Zulekha Yenepoya Institute of Oncology, Yenepoya Medical College Hospital, Mangalore

APR 2016 – OCT 2020

Assistant Professor, Surgical Oncology

Yenepoya Medical College Hospital, Mangalore

SEP 2013 – APR 2016

Associate Professor, General Surgery

KS Hegde Medical Academy, Mangalore

Surgical oncology work, general surgery procedures, undergraduate and postgraduate training, and postgraduate guide.

SEP 2008 – SEP 2013

Assistant Professor, General Surgery

KS Hegde Medical Academy, Mangalore

Credentials

Education, fellowships & honours

Education

MBBS

Sri Devraj Medical College, Kolar, India

Master of Surgery (General Surgery)

Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore, India

Senior Residency, Surgical Oncology

Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru, India

Introduction to Genomic Technologies (2020)

Johns Hopkins University, online course

Global Oncology Leadership Development Program (2026)

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada

Fellowships & Memberships

FSSO 2024

Fellow of the Society of Surgical Oncology, USA

FACS 2021

Fellow of the American College of Surgeons

FRCS 2021

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, UK

MRCS 2011

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, UK

Professional Affiliations

Indian Medical Association (IMA) Association of Surgeons of India (ASI) Indian Association of Surgical Oncology (IASO)

Research & Innovation

Advancing cancer science

Actively involved in basic science projects, clinical research and clinical trials, with 36+ peer-reviewed publications spanning robotic surgery, cancer epidemiology, proteogenomics and molecular oncology.

Emys Bionics Pvt Ltd

Co-founder of a healthcare startup developing patient-specific implants, surgical devices, and innovative solutions for post-treatment rehabilitation of cancer patients.

EasyStoma

Principal Investigator of a novel colostomy appliance system, funded by the Elevate 2023 Grant from the Karnataka Start-up Cell.

Clinical Trials

Clinical and functional assessment of PEEK-based implants for craniofacial reconstruction

Ongoing · Atal New India Challenge · Co-Investigator

GlobalSurg-CovidSurg Week: optimal timing for surgery following SARS-CoV-2 infection

Completed · NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery · Collaborator

Outcomes of surgery in COVID-19 infection: India Cohort Study (CovidSurg India)

Completed · NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery · Collaborator

Grants & Research Projects

3D-printed PEEK reinforced Molybdenum Disulfide Nanosheets Composite Scaffold for Craniofacial Reconstruction

Ongoing · Faizal & Shabana Foundation · Co-Investigator

Biocomposites based on Liquid Exfoliated Transition Metal Dichalcogenides for Orthopaedic Applications

Ongoing · SERB

Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, and Bone Formation Study in Rabbit Models

Ongoing · Seed grant · Co-Investigator

Genome-wide Association Studies (GWAS) for screening gene mutations in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Completed · Seed grant · Co-Investigator

EGFR dysregulation in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Ongoing · Seed grant

Discovery of putative kinases with diagnostic and prognostic value in triple negative breast cancer using a multi-omics approach

Gut microbiome and cancer cell crosstalk as a molecular drug target in colon cancer

ICMR funding

Evaluation of HER2 gene amplification in breast cancer by qPCR, IHC and FISH

Ongoing

Publications

35+ peer-reviewed publications in national and international journals

  1. Tauro LF, Rao BS, Hegde BR, Peter AI, Gulvadi RK. Obstructed/strangulated diaphragmatic hernia: A rare cause of acute intestinal obstruction in adults. Indian Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 2006;22(4):233-5.
  2. Permi HS, Shetty R, Alva S, Shetty B, Ballal R. Scrotal calcinosis: Rare case reports of two cases. Journal of Health and Allied Sciences NU. 2012;2(02):57-9.
  3. Bhat SP, Permi HS, Shetty R, Shenoy J, Prasad K, Hegde P. Ancient schwannoma of the chest wall diagnosed by fine needle aspiration cytology: A rare case report. Journal of Health and Allied Sciences NU. 2012;2(03):27-9.
  4. Shetty R, Girish BS, Ballal R, Permi HS, Makannavar P, Alva V. Xeroderma pigmentosa with multiple cutaneous malignancies: a rare case report and review of literature. Nitte University Journal of Health Science. 2013;3(1):76.
  5. Shetty R, Bhat S, Ballal R, Makannavar P, Kumar AK. Aggressive mesenteric fibromatosis: a rare case report and review of literature. Nitte University Journal of Health Science. 2013;3(1):79.
  6. Pandit L, Raghotham A, Chickabasaviah Y, Khandige G, Shetty RK. Neoplastic Parkinsonism: An illustrative case report. Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology. 2013;16(3):437.
  7. Kanagal DV, Prasad K, Rajesh A, Kumar RG, Cherian S, Shetty H, Shetty PK. Ovarian gonadoblastoma with dysgerminoma in a young girl with 46,XX karyotype: a case report. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2013;7(9):2021.
  8. Bhat SP, Prasad KH, Shetty R, Ballal R, Kumar SY, Hegde P. Giant inflammatory variant of well-differentiated liposarcoma of retroperitoneum: a rare case report. Indian Journal of Surgical Oncology. 2013;4(3):272-4.
  9. Kothari BA, Godkhindi A, Shetty R. Leiomyosarcoma: Case report of a rare primary smooth muscle tumour of the thyroid gland. Nitte University Journal of Health Science. 2017;7(1).
  10. Bhat SA, Gurtoo S, Deolankar SC, Fazili KM, Advani J, Shetty R, Prasad TK, Andrabi S, Subbannayya Y. A network map of netrin receptor UNC5B-mediated signaling. Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling. 2019;13(1):121-7.
  11. Dagamajalu S, Rex DA, Palollathil A, Shetty R, Bhat G, Cheung LW, Prasad TK. A pathway map of AXL receptor-mediated signaling network. Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling. 2020.
  12. Vijayakumar M, Shetty R. Robotic Surgery in Oncology. Indian Journal of Surgical Oncology. 2020;11(4):549-51.
  13. Shetty R, Akbar KJ, Rao HA, Vijayakumar M, Reddy RD. Robotic esophageal mobilization: A new norm in the future? Oncology Journal of India. 2020;4(3):87.
  14. Rao HA, Shetty R, Akbar KJ, Mahesh KB, Dixit J, Vijayakumar M, Gopinathan S, Mohammed N. Sentinel lymph node mapping in early breast cancer using methylene blue dye. Oncology Journal of India. 2020;4(3):120.
  15. Dagamajalu S, Vijayakumar M, Shetty R, Rex DA, Narayana Kotimoole C, Prasad TK. Proteogenomic examination of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC): new lines of inquiry. Expert Review of Proteomics. 2020;17(9):649-62.
  16. Shetty R, Mathew RT, Vijayakumar M. Incidence and pattern of distribution of cancer in India: A secondary data analysis from six population-based cancer registries. Cancer Research, Statistics, and Treatment. 2020;3(4):678.
  17. Mathew RT, Shetty R, Vijayakumar M. Authors' reply to Ventrapati. Cancer Research, Statistics, and Treatment. 2021;4(1):154.
  18. Palollathil A, Aravind A, Vijayakumar M, et al. Omics Data Mining for multiPTMs in Oral Cancer: Cellular Proteome and Secretome of Chronic Tobacco-Treated Oral Keratinocytes. OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology. 2021;25(7):450-62.
  19. Aravind A, Palollathil A, Rex DA, et al. A multi-cellular molecular signaling and functional network map of C-C motif chemokine ligand 18 (CCL18): a chemokine with immunosuppressive and pro-tumor functions. Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling. 2021.
  20. Upadhyay SS, Devasahayam Arokia Balaya R, Parate SS, Dagamajalu S, Keshava Prasad TS, Shetty R, Raju R. An assembly of TROP2-mediated signaling events. Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling. 2023.
  21. Tanwar NA, Malhotra R, Satheesh AP, et al. Understanding the Impact of Population and Cancer Type on Tumor Mutation Burden Scores: A Comprehensive Whole-Exome Study in Cancer Patients From India. JCO Global Oncology. 2023;9:e2300047.
  22. Babu A, Mathew RT, Shetty R. Pattern of Oral Cancer in India: An analysis of Hospital Based Cancer Registry data. Journal of Indian Academy of Oral Medicine & Radiology. 2023;35(4):497-500.
  23. Shastry RP, Ghate SD, Hameed A, Rao RSP, Bhandary YP, Shetty R. Emergence of rare and low abundant anaerobic gut Firmicutes is associated with a significant downfall of Klebsiella in human colon cancer. Microbial Pathogenesis. 2024;106726.
  24. Prabhu A, Nidhi S, Shetty R, Shenoy PU, Das R. Identification of novel genetic variants associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in South-West coast of India using targeted exome sequencing. Gene. 2025;933:148947.
  25. Khuntia SP, Mukherjee N, Javle V, Tanwar NA, Sreekanthreddy P, Varghese L, Gowda P, Kottlahouse A, Chandrani P, Choughule A, Pange P, Gupta V, Noronha V, Patil VM, Pramanik R, Kumar S, Nayak SP, Babu S, Shetty R, Kantharaju M, Chinder PS, Korlimarla A, Srinath BS, Prabhash K, Periyasamy G, Rishi KD, Goswami HM, Veldore VH. Deep diving into the fusion across cancer types in the Indian population from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded RNA-exome data: A road to discovering novel rearrangements with clinical relevance. JCO Global Oncology. 2024;10:e2400289.
  26. Palollathil A, Nandakumar R, Ahmed M, Velikkakath AK, Nisar M, Devasahayam Arokia Balaya R, Parate SS, Hanehalli V, Mahin A, Mathew RT, Shetty R, et al. HNCDrugResDb: a platform for deciphering drug resistance in head and neck cancers. Scientific Reports. 2024;14(1):25327.
  27. Shastry RP, Hameed A, Banerjee S, Prabhu A, Bajire SK, Pavan SR, Dhanyashree HR, Kotimoole CN, Stothard P, Surya S, Prasad TSK, Shetty R, Shen FT, Bhandary YP. Tryptic oncopeptide secreted from the gut bacterium Cronobacter malonaticus PO3 promotes colorectal cancer. Scientific Reports. 2025;15(1):9958.
  28. Upadhyay S, Shetty R, Prasad TSK. Prospects for the discovery of actionable molecular targets for triple negative breast cancer. In: Protein Biomarkers: Discovery and Applications in Clinical Diagnostics. 2025:175-185.
  29. Ifthikar MA, Kamath SN, Shetty R, Thippeswamy HG, Biswas S. Unmasking the masquerade: navigating the diagnostic enigma of abdominal TB mimicking endometriosis. The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India. 2025:1-3.
  30. Ramesh P, Upadhyay SS, Thomas SD, Sorake CJ, Gowda MK, Shetty VV, Modi PK, Shetty R, Vijayakumar M, Codi JA, Prasad TS. Differentiating gastric cancers from acid peptic diseases through integrative targeted proteomics and machine learning approaches. Journal of Proteome Research. 2025;24(10):5159-76.
  31. Shetty R, Mathew RT, Singh R. Metastasizing ameloblastoma: a case report. Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2025;19(1):562.
  32. Yadlapalli S, Jalaluddin A, Eshant I, Shetty R, Vijayakumar M. Prospective study comparing positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with conventional staging workup T3, T4 breast carcinoma. Cancer Research, Statistics and Treatment. 2026;9(1):42-48.
  33. Aravind A, Kotimoole CN, Upadhyay SS, Vijayakumar M, Mathew RT, Codi JA, Shetty R, Prasad TS. Mass spectrometry-based multi-protein panel assay for detecting immune checkpoint proteins in immune cells of oral cancer patients. Journal of Proteome Research. 2026;25(3):1339-52.
  34. Saldanha E, Shinde I, Noronha V, Peddagangannagari SR, Devi NL, Trivedi V, Poojary D, Nikam A, Nambiar K, Kale S, Kumar R, et al. Comprehensive genomic profiling of 1,000 Indian cancer genomes identify opportunity of precision medicine: a retrospective cohort study. Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. 2025;46(06):A032.
  35. Parate SS, Rehas R, Soyam G, George LS, Nisar M, Unni A, Sandra TR, Manuel S, Shaji V, Krishna SVA, George M. BC-Predict database: a curated resource of experimentally validated markers in multidrug resistance in breast cancer. bioRxiv. 2025.
  36. Shetty R, Yadlapalli SC. Diagnostic accuracy of PET imaging for lymph node detection in breast cancer patients undergoing upfront surgery: a single-institution analysis of breast cancer patients. F1000Research. 2026;15:291.

Textbook Chapter

Authored the chapter on Clinical Features and Staging in "Yenepoya Student Series Vol. I: Oral Cancer" (ISBN 978-81-934857-7-4).

Community

Giving back

Part of the Cancer Awareness and Outreach Program (CAOP), creating awareness about cancer among the general public.

Resource person for training National Service Scheme (NSS) programme officers to educate communities on control and prevention of common cancers.

Resource person in training ASHA and Anganwadi workers of Udupi district to spread awareness on common cancers.

Volunteered in numerous cancer screening and early detection camps conducted across five districts of Karnataka.

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PHONE

+91 98456 03685

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EMAIL

shettyrohan@rediffmail.com

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LOCATIONS

Yenepoya Specialty Hospital

Mangalore, Karnataka, India

Zulekha Yenepoya Institute of Oncology

Yenepoya Medical College Hospital, Mangalore, Karnataka 575004