Hematology Department 2

Hematology Department 2 is the lymphoma and myeloma subspecialty of the Department of Hematology, and is the first subspecialty in a hematology department in Northeast China to focus on the diagnosis and treatment of lymphoma and myeloma. It treats all types of lymphoid tumors, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and plasma cell disorders such as multiple myeloma, amyloidosis, and POEMS syndrome. Established in 2013, the department currently has 31 beds, 8 physicians, 12 nurses, and 2 supervisors of master's students. During his clinical visiting-scholar placement at Mayo Clinic in the United States in 2014-2015, Director Wang Xiaobo paid particular attention to and studied its advanced management model. In 2015, he proposed the concept for developing Hematology Department 2 and advocated the philosophy “A department should have distinctive features; each person should have expertise; what others do not have, we should have; what others have, we should do better.” Using hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as a platform, the department is building a regional lymphoma diagnosis and treatment center. With the support of the hospital leadership, all team members have worked together with dedication and determination. Through unremitting efforts, clinical work and scientific research have advanced by leaps and bounds, making the department a regional benchmark for lymphoma and myeloma diagnosis and treatment. It has already developed a strong local brand effect and has achieved a certain level of specialty reputation in Northeast China and throughout the country.

Department brand: China Lymphoma Whole-Course Management Project Hospital Project Base, National Drug Clinical Research Base, member of the Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Alliance of the China CSCO Anti-Lymphoma Alliance,  China Anti-Cancer Association Lymphoma Patient Education Base, member of the China Multiple Myeloma Research Alliance, member of the China Northern Lymphoma Collaborative Group, member of the Liaoning Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Working Group, member of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association T-Cell Lymphoma Group, the China EBV-Associated Lymphoid Diseases Group, and the China Waldenström Macroglobulinemia Collaborative Group.

I. Hematology Department 2 provides stratified, standardized diagnosis and treatment and full-course management for lymphoma and myeloma. It also conducts stem cell transplantation for patients with lymphoma, myeloma, and other lymphoid tumors; explores molecularly based individualized treatment for high-risk lymphoma; provides MDT consultation for difficult cases of lymphoma and plasma cell disorders or multidisciplinary treatment for severe complications, such as hemophagocytic syndrome; and undertakes treatment of severe pneumonia after immunochemotherapy, salvage treatment for EBV-related lymphoma, treatment of lymphoma in the very elderly, and observation of maintenance treatment with vascular immunomodulators for high-risk lymphoma, among other services. It currently has the largest population of lymphoma and myeloma patients in Dalian.

In April 2017, together with the oncology team, the department established the Lymphoma and Myeloma Diagnosis and Treatment Center of the Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University and simultaneously established a lymphoma specialty alliance. It took the initiative to work at the primary level, conducting touring lectures on standardized lymphoma diagnosis and treatment and organizing a consultation team for difficult cases. It opened an MDT outpatient clinic for lymphoma and myeloma, strengthened cooperation among all departments of the hospital, maintained monthly MDT academic activities, valued patients’ healthcare experience, emphasized department publicity, and increased the department’s visibility. It also valued patients’ healthcare experience and used media resources to provide lectures and publicity on specialty diseases. With a patient-centered approach and emphasis on patients’ experiences and coordination between medical and nursing staff, it provides patients with continuous, standardized, meticulous, high-quality care throughout the entire course of treatment.

II. The department conducts clinical and basic research on lymphoma and myeloma, emphasizes talent development, and has been awarded multiple national, provincial, and municipal projects.

The department has led or participated in more than 10 projects, including 8 National Natural Science Foundation projects and 6 principal-investigator-led research projects. Professor Li Li and physician Tang Bo respectively lead National Natural Science Foundation projects in the fields of lymphoma and myeloma. Department personnel have published articles in high-level international hematology journals such as BLOOD. According to different lymphoid tumor subtypes, the department is further divided into different subspecialties with designated leaders, establishing a system for discussion of difficult cases and a weekly foreign-literature reading and reporting system. It emphasizes the training and development of young physicians in the department’s core systems and has established a long-term talent-development program and fund support. The department conducts GCP-compliant clinical trials of new drugs and, for difficult and high-risk patients, conducts or participates in investigator-initiated clinical research.

Li Li

1. National Natural Science Foundation of China General Program, 81970181, Study of targeted regulatory molecules upstream of the PD1/PD-L1 pathway in ABC-type diffuse large B-cell lymphoma based on a PDX model, 2020/1-2023/12, RMB 550,000, ongoing, principal investigator

2. Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Foundation Program Guidance Plan Project, 2019-ZD-0647, Study of the regulation of PD-L1 expression by the SRC-STAT3 pathway in ABC-type diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, 2019/10-2021/10, RMB 50,000, ongoing, principal investigator

3. Dalian Medical Science Research Plan Project, 1712039, Study of the mechanism of NFATC1 in immune evasion in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, 2017/10-2019/10, RMB 20,000, ongoing, principal investigator

Li Li # , Jun Zhang, Juan Chen, Zijun Y. Xu-Monette, Yi Miao, Min Xiao, Ken H. Young, Sa Wang, L. Jeffrey Medeiros, Michael Wang, Richard J. Ford, and Lan V. Pham. B-cell receptor-mediated NFATc1 activation induces IL-10/STAT3/PD-L1 signaling in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Blood. 2018 Oct 25;132(17):1805-1817 (IF: 15.132)

Tang Bo

1. National Natural Science Foundation of China Young Scientists Fund Project, project approval number: 81800203, project title: Mechanistic study of NUMB regulation of multiple myeloma cancer stem cells and drug resistance through the Hedgehog and Notch signaling pathways, direct costs: RMB 210,000, project period: January 2019 to December 2021

2. Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Foundation Program Doctoral Start-up Fund, project title: Mechanistic study of how downregulation of the cell-fate determinant NUMB activates the Hedgehog and Notch signaling pathways to promote multiple myeloma disease progression, project number: 20180540088, contract period: September 2018 to August 2020, funding: RMB 30,000

III. Important academic appointments and participation in the drafting of Chinese lymphoma and myeloma guidelines or consensuses

Director Wang Xiaobo, the department leader, serves as a member of the Lymphocyte Diseases Group of the 11th Committee of the Hematology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; a member of the Hematology Branch of the Liaoning Provincial Medical Association; deputy chair of the Dalian Hematology Branch; a member of the Expert Committee of the Lymphoma Alliance of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology; a member of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Working Group and the Lymphoma Group of the Hematologic Oncology Professional Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association; and a member of the Multiple Myeloma Academic Working Committee of the 1st Committee of the Hematology Branch of the Chinese Geriatrics Society, among other academic appointments. In 2021, he became a member of the expert group for the National Health Commission’s Capacity Building and Continuing Education Lymphoma Specialty Development Project. As a member of the expert group, he participated in drafting Chinese guidelines for lymphoma, myeloma, and other lymphatic-system diseases, as follows:

1. Chinese Expert Consensus on Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Lymphoma (2018), Chinese Journal of Oncology;

2. Chinese Guidelines for Chronic B-Cell Proliferative Diseases (2018), Chinese Journal of Hematology, China

3. CSCO Guidelines for Lymphoma Diagnosis and Treatment, 2021 edition

4. Chinese Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Castleman Disease, 2021, Chinese Journal of Hematology

IV. Building a high-level academic exchange platform and enhancing the reputation of the lymphoma and myeloma subspecialty

The department conducts high-level academic exchanges and accelerates the development of professional strength through the models of “going out” (advanced training and academic conferences) and “bringing in” (external experts, academic lectures, and continuing education). It has established cooperation and MDT exchanges with leading lymphoma centers in China, holds national-level and Liaoning Provincial continuing-education programs on lymphoid tumors every year, and hosts large academic conferences on lymphoid tumors every year on behalf of the Anti-Cancer Association, the CSCO Anti-Lymphoma Alliance, and others. It conducts clinical and laboratory exchanges in lymphoma and myeloma with Mayo Clinic in the United States and the Pittsburgh Cancer Medical Center in the United States. Department physicians are encouraged to go out to learn advanced technologies and concepts and to speak at various academic conferences to showcase the subspecialty.

Hematology Department 2 has become a “name brand” in regional lymphoma and myeloma diagnosis and treatment and is one of the exemplary models of our hospital’s implementation of subspecialty development.