Oncology

The Department of Oncology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University was established in 1963. Over the past 60-plus years, its staff have been courageous in innovating and continuously exploring, and the department has become a modern medical oncology treatment center offering multiple treatment modalities, including chemotherapy, biological targeted therapy, and integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment. The Department of Oncology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University is currently among the first batch of national clinical trial bases for antineoplastic drugs designated by the Ministry of Health, a key discipline in Dalian, the Medical Oncology Diagnosis and Treatment Base of Dalian’s Rapid Enhancement of Medical Soft Power Project, the Oncology Multidisciplinary Consultation Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, and a model ward for standardized treatment of cancer pain in Liaoning Province. In 1997, it was successfully approved by the Ministry of Education as a “master’s degree program in Oncology,” and in 2011 it was approved as a “doctoral degree program in Oncology.” Each year, the department admits and trains doctoral and master’s graduate students specializing in oncology and undertakes multiple national-, provincial-, and municipal-level scientific research projects. It is at an advanced level in China in medical care, teaching, and research. Over the past 5 years, it has led 10 Natural Science Foundation and provincial- and municipal-level projects, received 5 national-, provincial-, and municipal-level awards, published more than 30 SCI papers, and published more than 130 papers in core journals.

The department currently has 22 physicians, including 9 professors, 8 associate professors, 2 doctoral supervisors, and 12 master’s supervisors, and has formed a medical oncology treatment team primarily composed of high-level physicians. The inpatient department has 3 wards, and oncology outpatient clinics have been established at the Changchun Road campus, the Lianhe Road campus, and the Jinpu campus, respectively.

The department places great emphasis on talent development and, since 1998, has sent outstanding physicians every year to oncology centers in Japan and the United States for advanced training. It has reached an advanced level in China in multidisciplinary comprehensive oncology diagnosis and treatment, chemotherapy, and biological targeted therapy. It is particularly distinctive in the treatment of solid tumors, including lung cancer, breast cancer, digestive tract tumors, and head and neck tumors, and has introduced multiple advanced diagnostic and treatment methods. These include: postoperative adjuvant chemoimmunotherapy for tumors (which can eliminate residual tumor cells after tumor surgery and reduce the tumor recurrence rate); neoadjuvant chemotherapy for tumors (which, in some patients with advanced tumors—such as those with stage IIIb lung cancer—can greatly improve long-term survival when surgery is performed after treatment, and can provide an opportunity for surgery for patients with locally advanced breast cancer); intracavitary catheter chemotherapy (with an efficacy rate of more than 80% in treating malignant pleural effusion and malignant pericardial effusion); continuous 5-FU infusion via a pump (which has substantially improved the efficacy of treatment for digestive tract tumors); interventional tumor therapy (DSA-guided perfusion and embolization therapy for tumors, color Doppler ultrasound-guided alcohol injection for liver cancer, and tumor radiofrequency ablation); peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for the treatment of solid tumors and microwave therapy for tumors; genetic testing to guide the use of biological targeted therapy for patients; CT- or color Doppler ultrasound-guided needle biopsy of primary or metastatic lesions; and circulating tumor cell detection in blood to guide chemotherapy. Drawing on extensive clinical experience and making use of modern advanced examination methods, such as molecular pathology, genetic testing, and drug-sensitivity testing, the department formulates the optimal diagnosis and treatment plan for each patient and achieves standardized and “individualized” tumor treatment.

Our department has now implemented disease-centered multidisciplinary comprehensive diagnosis and treatment and whole-course management of tumors. It has established the Oncology Multidisciplinary Consultation Platform (MDT) of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University and opened MDT outpatient clinics at the Changchun Road campus and the Lianhe Road campus, including five subspecialty platforms: lung cancer and pulmonary nodule MDT, gastrointestinal tumor MDT, breast cancer MDT, integrative Chinese and Western medicine oncology MDT, and cancer pain MDT. Internationally and nationally leading medical oncology specialists are invited to provide outpatient consultations, effectively resolving difficult cases in tumor diagnosis and treatment in Dalian and enabling Dalian residents to receive diagnosis and treatment from international and domestic oncology experts without leaving Dalian. As a national clinical trial base for antineoplastic drugs, our department has led and conducted more than 30 international and domestic multicenter clinical trials, bringing the most advanced international and domestic diagnostic and treatment methods to patients in Dalian.

All medical staff in the Department of Oncology uphold the principle of “putting patients at the center and providing high-quality services.” They actively participate in free oncology clinics, such as those at Xinghai Anti-Cancer Paradise and on Anti-Cancer Day. As one of Dalian’s first charitable donation bases for targeted drugs, the department has persistently served patients throughout the city who require targeted therapy, helping them obtain free donated medications. The department regularly holds the “Oncology Physician, Nurse and Patient Fellowship” and patient education sessions, deepening communication between medical staff and patients and receiving broad social recognition. Doctors from the Department of Oncology also participate in the work of the oncology hospice established by Li Ka-shing at our hospital, providing patients with advanced cancer with a peaceful haven. This public-welfare initiative has been recognized by society.

All personnel in the Department of Oncology uphold the rigorous scientific approach and superb medical skills of the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University. With outstanding expertise and noble medical ethics, they are committed to providing wholehearted service to the many patients with cancer and wish all cancer patients a speedy recovery!