Oncology is the branch of medicine concerned with the study and treatment of tumors. Oncologists are physicians who specialize in treating patients with tumors, especially cancerous ones. Because oncologists do not begin to treat patients until a cancer diagnosis is made, oncologists are typically not sued for failure to diagnose cancer. Errors in treating cancer, administering cancer treatments, or in performing cancer surgery can, however, lead to malpractice liability for oncologists.

Oncologists have a duty to treat their patients with the care expected of a reasonably competent physician practicing in the field of oncology. To succeed on a claim of oncology malpractice, a plaintiff must prove that his or her treating oncologist breached the applicable standard of care and that the breach was the cause of injury to the plaintiff. Proving injury is particularly difficult in oncology malpractice cases. Because cancer prognoses are difficult to predict, it is often difficult to prove what part of a plaintiff's injury was a result of malpractice and what part was a manifestation of the underlying cancer. Expert testimony is nearly always required to establish what part of an oncology patient's injuries can be attributed to the alleged negligence of the oncologist.

Oncology treatment can be administered by medical personnel who are not physicians. The treating oncologist can, nevertheless, be held liable for failing to properly supervise the actions of those administering treatment to his or her patients if that treatment turns out to be negligent. In addition, the medical personnel who administer the allegedly negligent treatment can be named as a separate defendant in an oncology malpractice suit. If there is no evidence to support a claim of negligent supervision by a treating oncologist, medical personnel administering treatment can be named in a malpractice lawsuit that does not include a claim against the oncologist.

Two common malpractice claims against oncologists are improper use of chemotherapy drugs and improper use of radiation therapy. Both chemotherapy and radiation are toxic treatments. As such, their improper use can have devastating effects on a patient. Overdosage of chemotherapy drugs is generally considered evidence of negligence. Often, in overdosing cases, there is either a problem with the chemotherapy prescription or with medical personnel's misreading or mis-filling the prescription. Whether an oncologist can be held liable for these errors depends on the specific facts of each case. With radiation therapy, malpractice often occurs when the radiation is directed to the wrong body part or where too much radiation is given. Radiation directed at the wrong body part can result in damage to the unaffected body part as well as continued growth of the cancer in the affected part. Overdosage of radiation can result in tissue destruction. As with chemotherapy errors, whether an oncologist can be held liable for radiation errors depends on the facts of the case.

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