Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Medical Oncology Department

The Department of Integrative Medical Oncology of China-Japan Friendship Hospital is a National Key Clinical Specialty, a Key Specialty/Key Discipline of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a National Clinical Pharmacology Base for Oncology, and a Clinical Teaching Base for Oncology Specialist Nurses of the Chinese Nursing Association. The department is headed by Jia Liqun; its deputy heads are Li Yuan and Lou Yanni, and its head nurse is Qi Hongying. It currently has 4 doctoral supervisors and 7 master’s supervisors; 7 chief physicians, 2 associate chief physicians, 5 attending physicians, 4 resident physicians, 7 nurses in charge, and 11 nurses. The department has 72 inpatient beds in total, divided between two wards, the Main Campus and the West Campus. Relying on China-Japan Friendship Hospital’s large comprehensive diagnosis and treatment platform, the department uses traditional Chinese medicine as its distinctive feature and combines it with advanced modern oncology prevention and treatment technologies to provide chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and tumor cryo-interventional therapy. It has achieved notable results in improving patients’ quality of life and prolonging survival.

The department was established in 1984. Its first department director, Professor Zhang Daizhao, was one of the founders of the national discipline of integrative oncology. He established the basic therapeutic principles and methods for preventing and treating adverse reactions to radiotherapy and chemotherapy with traditional Chinese medicine. The Fuzheng Jiedu Granules prescription is representative of his work; it has shown certain efficacy in improving quality of life in patients with cancer. In the last century, he also made important contributions to research on the prevention and treatment of esophageal cancer with traditional Chinese medicine in areas with a high incidence of cancer. The second department director, Professor Li Peiwen, was a Capital Famous TCM Physician and an academic inheritance mentor for nationally renowned veteran TCM experts. He carried out extensive work in integrative Chinese and Western medical palliative treatment of cancer and developed a variety of hospital preparations, improving the efficacy of treatment for tumor complications in patients with intermediate and advanced disease. The current department director, Professor Jia Liqun, was among the first Capital Famous TCM Physicians. He serves as chair of the Branch of Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine Prevention and Health Care of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, as a council member of the China Association of Chinese Medicine and honorary deputy chair of its Oncology Branch, and as a member of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission. He receives a special government allowance from the State Council. Guided by the spirit of inheritance and innovation, he established a technical system for the external treatment of tumor complications with traditional Chinese medicine, wrote the first monograph on external treatment methods for tumors, and, as leader of the National TCM Oncology Collaborative Group, conducted and promoted research on TCM screening, prevention, and treatment technologies in areas with a high incidence of esophageal cancer. He also established the National Medical Alliance for Integrative Oncology Specialties.

Departmental diagnostic and treatment features: After more than 30 years of clinical practice and innovation, the department has five major areas of strength—esophageal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and neuroendocrine tumors—and is characterized by external treatment with traditional Chinese medicine and argon–helium cryoablation technology.

Esophageal cancer: The department is the lead institution of the National TCM Esophageal Cancer Collaborative Group and undertakes the key collaborative project on esophageal cancer involving Chinese and Western medicine of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It has developed an expert consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer with integrated Chinese and Western medicine and established a tongue-diagnosis-based system for screening and preventing esophageal precancerous lesions. It has developed experience-based formulas for esophageal cancer, including Kangai Yi Pills, modified Tongyou Decoction, and the Kuiyang Shengji Formula. Physicians primarily responsible for treatment: Jia Liqun and Lou Yanni.

Lung cancer: The department specializes in combining traditional Chinese medicine with targeted therapy and immunotherapy. It has a clear advantage in prolonging survival in patients with intermediate and advanced lung cancer and can reduce adverse reactions related to lung-cancer treatment. It has received the National Science and Technology Progress Award (as a collaborator) and the Science and Technology Award of the China Association of Chinese Medicine. It has developed experience-based formulas and hospital preparations related to lung cancer, including Pingfei Oral Liquid, Shipi Xiaoshui Paste, and Zizao Yangrong Decoction. Physicians primarily responsible for treatment: Cui Huijuan and Li Liya.

Breast cancer: The department specializes in the integrated Chinese and Western medical treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. Treatment with traditional Chinese medicine has reduced the risk of recurrence in patients with intermediate and advanced breast cancer and alleviated adverse reactions to breast-cancer medications. It is the chairing institution of the Committee for Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Prevention and Treatment of Breast Cancer of the Beijing Association for Cancer Prevention and Control, and it established a Pink Ribbon Club for the rehabilitation of breast-cancer patients. It has developed experience-based formulas and hospital preparations related to breast cancer, including the Louci Sanjie Formula and Tongkuaixiao Oral Liquid. Physician primarily responsible for treatment: Wan Donggui.

Neuroendocrine tumors: The department has established a multidisciplinary diagnostic and treatment team featuring traditional Chinese medicine. It has reached a domestically leading level in the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and participated in developing the CSCO Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Neuroendocrine Tumors. It has developed an experience-based formula related to neuroendocrine tumors: the Shumu Jianpi Formula. Physician primarily responsible for treatment: Tan Huangying.

Colorectal cancer: The department specializes in combining traditional Chinese medicine with chemotherapy and targeted therapy to improve the quality of life of patients with colorectal cancer. On the basis of pattern-based diagnosis and treatment with traditional Chinese medicine and in conjunction with modern medical diagnostic and treatment guidelines, it develops individualized treatment plans. It addresses treatment-related complications such as diarrhea and hand-foot syndrome in patients with colorectal cancer and has developed related experience-based formulas and hospital preparations, including the Tiaopi Anchang Formula, modified Shengjiang Xiexin Decoction, and Tongluo Powder. Physicians primarily responsible for treatment: Cheng Zhiqiang, Li Yuan, and Li Xue.

Indications for external treatment with traditional Chinese medicine: cancer pain, malignant ascites, spontaneous sweating, abdominal distension, nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy, nonhealing postoperative wounds, lymphedema, radiation proctitis, radiation esophagitis, radiation dermatitis, oral ulcers after radiotherapy or chemotherapy, hand-foot syndrome, hand-foot skin reactions, and other conditions.

Indications for argon–helium cryo-interventional therapy: local treatment of malignant tumors such as lung cancer and liver cancer. Combined with holistic treatment using traditional Chinese medicine, it has improved the tumor response rate.

Research and teaching achievements: The department has led and undertaken more than 30 national and provincial/ministerial research projects, including 10 ongoing projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. It has received the National Science and Technology Progress Award (as a collaborator) and 8 provincial/ministerial science and technology awards, obtained 5 national invention patents, served as chief editor of more than 20 oncology monographs, and published more than 30 popular-science books. It undertakes the teaching of integrative oncology at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, has served as chief editor of 2 textbooks, and has repeatedly been recognized as an advanced teaching department at the hospital level. Each year, it trains more than 20 doctoral and master’s students, more than 10 physicians receiving further training, and more than 40 resident physicians and clinical pharmacists. It has established a training model for professionals in integrated Chinese and Western medicine and built an integrated Chinese and Western medicine teaching platform.

Location within the hospital: The department’s Main Campus outpatient clinic is on the 2nd floor of Building M, and the Main Campus inpatient ward is on the east side of the 5th floor of Building A. China-Japan Friendship Hospital’s West Campus is located at 2A Shuangquanbao, Chaoyang District, Beijing. The department’s West Campus outpatient clinic is on the 2nd floor, and the inpatient ward is on the 6th floor.

Department telephone numbers: Main Campus: outpatient clinic 010-84206495, ward 010-84205733, nurses’ station 010-84205732; West Campus: ward 010-53236565.