Medical Oncology Ward I

The Department of Medical Oncology of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University was established in 1996 and was the earliest oncology specialty established among the tertiary grade A general hospitals in our province. It has now become a frontline department with considerable strength and scale, integrating medical care, scientific research, and teaching, and is at the forefront within the province in many respects. As a doctoral program in oncology in our province, it has strong professional capabilities and a well-developed talent echelon. It currently has 2 wards, with a total of 150 beds, 20 physicians, and 29 nurses.

As the earliest-established oncology specialty among the tertiary grade A general hospitals in the province, the Department of Medical Oncology of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University is currently a committee member unit of multiple national-level academic societies, including serving as the deputy chair unit of the Heilongjiang Oncology Professional Committee of the Chinese Medical Association, the deputy chair unit of the Heilongjiang Province Chemotherapy Professional Committee of the Chinese Medical Association, the deputy chair unit of the Heilongjiang Chemotherapy Professional Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, and the chair unit of the Oncology MDT Special Committee and the Oncology Precision Treatment Special Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial Medical Promotion Association, among others. In the 2015 inaugural Peking University Clinical Discipline Evaluation—China’s Best Clinical Discipline Evaluation Ranking, our department ranked tenth among oncology disciplines, establishing the position of this discipline in the oncology communities of China and Heilongjiang Province.

The Department of Medical Oncology has always adhered to comprehensively and systematically permeating the philosophy of “professionalism, service, cooperation, and development” into medical care, teaching, scientific research, talent cultivation, and other work.

Medical Characteristics

(I) Oncology MDT (Multidisciplinary Diagnosis and Treatment)

Combining physicians’ clinical experience and professional foundation, the Department of Medical Oncology has initially formed subspecialty teams for gastrointestinal tumors, lung cancer, breast cancer, and other diseases, and fully utilizes the advantages of multidisciplinary cooperation in a general hospital. It took the lead within the hospital in establishing MDT teams for multiple tumor types together with surgery, radiotherapy, pathology, imaging, and other relevant departments, including lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, tumors of the genitourinary system, malignant melanoma, and head and neck tumors. Through the multidisciplinary cooperation model, it promotes the further improvement of the hospital’s diagnostic and treatment levels for malignant tumors, and has formed standardized precision diagnosis and treatment pathways for lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, tumors of the genitourinary system, and head and neck tumors. The MDT teams frequently utilize various online platforms to vigorously promote academic exchanges and the dissemination of diagnostic and treatment concepts with domestic and international, as well as within- and outside-province, partners, including online consultations, MDT discussions, patient education, and popularization of tumor-related knowledge. While gradually enhancing their academic status and influence in China, they promote the concept of MDT to lower-level hospitals and comprehensively improve the overall level of standardized tumor diagnosis and treatment throughout the province. Traditional chemotherapy and emerging treatment modalities such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy are comprehensively utilized, and precise, personalized treatment plans are provided for every patient receiving medical care under the guidance of the MDT concept.

(II) Clinical Trials of New Oncology Drugs

The clinical development of new drugs for malignant tumors is an important avenue for bringing benefits to the clinical treatment of tumor patients, occupies an important position in the research and development of new drugs in all clinical disciplines, and conducting clinical trials of new drugs is an important means for the Department of Medical Oncology to explore new treatment regimens and align with international standards. Under the leadership of Director Yang Yu, the Department of Medical Oncology officially obtained the qualification to participate in clinical trials of new drugs on March 7, 2022, laying a solid foundation for the development of the oncology discipline and the enhancement of its future competitiveness. At present, the Department of Medical Oncology is a member unit of the Heilongjiang Province Oncology Drug Clinical Research Alliance and has carried out multiple Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III registration clinical studies, forming a new situation in which clinical trials of new oncology drugs and routine diagnosis and treatment complement each other, and can provide tumor patients with richer treatment options.

(III) Minimally Invasive Treatment Technologies for Tumors

The “surgicalization” of internal medicine physicians is also a challenge in the development direction of new medical technologies. The department actively carries out minimally invasive procedures such as tumor biopsy, radiofrequency ablation, and microwave therapy. The number of patients undergoing local interventional minimally invasive procedures has gradually increased, meeting the diagnostic and treatment needs of the numerous tumor patients.

(IV) Deep Venous Implantation Technology

The Department of Medical Oncology was the earliest department in the hospital to carry out PICC and has performed the largest number of implantations, solving the problem of intravenous infusion for patients receiving tumor chemotherapy. Building on PICC technology, in 2021 the department took the lead in introducing the advanced intravenous infusion port implantation technology used domestically and internationally in the hospital (including chest ports and arm ports). Fixed operating physicians were assigned in the two wards, with focused training and rapid proficiency in application, making infusion for tumor patients safer and more convenient and addressing patients’ urgent clinical needs.

(V) Tumor Photodynamic Therapy Technology

In 2022, the department took the lead in carrying out photodynamic technology for the treatment of refractory cutaneous malignant tumors and head and neck tumors, achieving good social and economic benefits.

(VI) Standardized Cancer Pain Demonstration Ward

The Department of Medical Oncology actively carries out standardized treatment of cancer pain, alleviating patients’ suffering and improving their quality of life through multiple approaches, including health education and publicity, pharmacological treatment, and psychological intervention. It is one of the first batch of demonstration wards for standardized cancer pain treatment in Heilongjiang Province.

(VII) Oncology Day Ward

The oncology day ward is a “third treatment model” between outpatient and inpatient care. This medical service model can effectively alleviate the accumulation of patients in outpatient, emergency, and ward settings, fully improve hospital bed turnover, and also help shorten patients’ waiting time for beds, reduce patients’ financial burden, alleviate conflicts between doctors and patients, and so on. At the same time, it improves the effective utilization rate of social medical resources, bringing benefits to patients, hospitals, and society. The Department of Medical Oncology began exploring the day chemotherapy ward model 20 years ago and officially established the oncology day ward in 2016. While ensuring medical quality and medical safety, it also saved patients from multiple burdens.

Teaching Work

As a comprehensive department of medical oncology in a large teaching hospital, it is also a highly specialized discipline, focusing primarily on postgraduate education, and is a doctoral program in oncology.

(I) Multi-Track Teaching

The department undertakes the theoretical teaching and teaching tasks for interclass internships of undergraduate clinical medicine, undergraduate pharmacy, and the “5+3” clinical medicine program courses “Introduction to Oncology” and “Introduction to Clinical Medicine,” as well as the training of postgraduate students, including master’s and doctoral students. Teaching takes various forms, including lectures on professional theory and practical guidance in clinical skills. It emphasizes the cultivation of clinical quality and clinical skills while also taking into account the training of scientific research capabilities. All physicians in the discipline participate in the teaching work of the standardized training base for resident physicians specializing in radiation oncology.

(II) Faculty

Number of supervisors: 2 doctoral supervisors and 8 master’s supervisors.

Scientific Research Work

(I) Research Directions: Years of work have resulted in the formation of multiple research directions.

1．Biological therapy and molecular targeted therapy for malignant tumors; 2. Apoptosis and autophagy of tumor cells; 3. Detection of minimal tumor lesions; 4. The relationship between tumorigenesis and endocrinology and metabolism; 5. Mechanisms of brain metastases and leptomeningeal metastatic tumors and exploration of intrathecal therapy.

(II) Scientific Research Achievements

The highest impact factor of scientific research papers published in recent years: 20.1; dozens of SCI articles; in 2022, physicians in the Department of Medical Oncology published a total of 6 SCI-indexed papers. Several physicians in the department hold multiple projects, including National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, provincial-level scientific research projects, and university-level and hospital-level scientific research projects.