Pathology

The Department of Pathology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University is a provincial clinical key specialty in Liaoning Province; a national resident physician training base; and a master's degree program in clinical pathology. It ranked sixth twice in the hospital specialty reputation rankings for Northeast China in the Fudan Rankings; it is the pathology department with the strongest overall capabilities in southern Liaoning. The Department of Pathology currently has 23 physicians and 22 technologists. Among the physicians, 12 hold doctoral degrees and 11 hold master's degrees; there are 5 chief physicians and 4 deputy chief physicians; many have undertaken further study and training at well-known hospitals in China and abroad. Seven members of the Department of Pathology serve as deputy chairpersons, standing committee members/committee members of national/provincial professional societies; 1 is an editorial board member of national- and provincial-level professional journals; 1 is a reviewer for a national-level journal.

According to the needs of disciplinary development, the Department of Pathology is divided into the histology group, cytology group, molecular pathology group, and biobank group. The histology group is further divided into several specialized subspecialties, including the respiratory system, digestive system, breast, thyroid, genitourinary system, soft tissue, and lymphohematopoietic system. The cytology group is the greatest distinguishing feature of the Department of Pathology of our hospital. Cytological diagnosis physicians have received systematic training and work independently on a full-time basis; among them, pathological diagnosis by aspiration cytology, especially pathological diagnosis of thyroid fine-needle aspiration, ranks first among the three northeastern provinces. The molecular pathology group is mainly responsible for genetic testing of tumors, providing a molecular diagnostic basis for precision treatment of tumors. The molecular pathology laboratory has passed the proficiency testing program for fluorescence in situ hybridization detection of ALK gene status in paraffin sections of lung cancer organized by the Pathology Quality Control Center of the National Health and Family Planning Commission; has passed the proficiency testing program for detection of PDGFR/C-KIT gene mutations in tissue sections, CNAS T0836/T0837; has passed the proficiency testing program for detection of EGFR/KRAS/BRAF gene mutations in tissue sections, CNAS T0833/T0834/T0835; and has also passed testing by The European Molecular Genetics Quality Network (EMQN). The molecular pathology laboratory fully guarantees the accuracy and reliability of genetic testing.

The Department of Pathology is responsible for the proper operation of the biobank. The biobank of our hospital has obtained the Administrative License for Human Genetic Resources from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China and has become a group member unit of the China Association of Medical Biotechnology. It is mainly responsible for the daily work of sample collection, processing, storage, management, and quality control throughout the entire process, and is also responsible for collecting and organizing information related to biological samples, including clinical diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. The biobank is an open public scientific research and medical platform of the hospital, serving both medical personnel and patients.

The Department of Pathology undertakes 19 ongoing national-level projects, 14 provincial/ministerial-level projects, and 1 municipal-level project; has received 2 second prizes and 2 third prizes for provincial scientific and technological progress, and 1 first prize for provincial/ministerial-level scientific and technological achievements; has published a total of 54 SCI articles and 150 articles in core journals, and has participated in compiling six monographs. The Department of Pathology regularly holds provincial continuing education courses; it actively conducts academic exchanges with well-known hospitals in China and abroad, taking this opportunity to keep pace with the forefront of academic development.

The Department of Pathology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University has reached an advanced domestic level in fields including tumor pathological diagnosis and molecular genetic testing. Providing the highest-quality pathology services to clinicians and patients is the unchanging pursuit of pathology professionals, and we will always be on the way!