Haematology

| General Overview |--------------

The predecessor of the Department of Hematology of Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, was the Hematology Group of the Department of Internal Medicine of Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai First Medical College, established in 1954, with Professor Wu Mao'e responsible for its establishment. From 1956～1988, the group was headed by the renowned hematologist Professor Ding Xunjie. The Hematology Research Laboratory of Huashan Hospital was established in 1986. The department became independent in 1988; since its establishment, it has been headed successively by Professors Ding Xunjie, Lu Shan, Xie Yi, Xu Xiaoping, and Chen Tong. Lin Guowei is a lifetime professor and has served as deputy director of the Department of Internal Medicine Teaching and Research of Huashan Hospital, director of the Department of Diagnostics Teaching and Research, and director of the Clinical Epidemiology Center.

The Department of Hematology currently has inpatient wards at the Main Hospital, Pudong Hospital campus, and Baoshan Hospital campus, while chemotherapy and procedure beds are also routinely set up on the day ward platform of the Main Hospital. It has 25 staff members (20 clinical physicians and 5 laboratory personnel), including 1 lifetime professor, 3 professionals with full senior titles, and 7 with associate senior titles. There are 3 doctoral supervisors and 4 master's supervisors. The Department of Hematology currently has more than 70 approved beds, including 6 Class 100 laminar-flow sterile rooms. It has an independent hematology laboratory equipped with a blood cell separator, CD34+ cell purification instrument, liquid-nitrogen programmed cooling instrument, low-temperature refrigerator, flow cytometer, and instruments and equipment related to cell culture.

The Department of Hematology Team of Huashan Hospital, Fudan University

| Department Features |--------------

In 1980, the department was the first in China to carry out autologous bone marrow transplantation for the treatment of acute leukemia and advanced lymphoma, and it once served as the lead institution for the southern region of the national autologous transplantation collaboration group. The preservation of bone marrow cells at 4°C received the First Prize for Scientific and Technological Achievements from the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau in 1985. In 1985, the department was the first in China to conduct research on fetal liver hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, receiving the Third Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the Ministry of Health in 1988. In 1992, unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation was used to treat 1 adult patient with chronic myeloid leukemia in the accelerated phase; the patient achieved remission and long-term survival, representing the first such case in China. In 1995, the department initiated autologous peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, making it the earliest institution in southern China to implement this technology. In August 1996, it completed the first case in the country (also the first case in the China Marrow Donor Program) of unrelated peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for leukemia, and received the Third Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from Shanghai Municipality in 1998. Since 1996, it has mobilized and collected peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cells from hematopoietic stem cell donors for the Red Cross, accumulating extensive experience. In 2006, the Shanghai Red Cross awarded a plaque confirming Huashan Hospital as the Shanghai Unrelated Hematopoietic Stem Cell Collection Center, assisting the Shanghai branch of the China Marrow Donor Program in completing the collection and donation of unrelated hematopoietic stem cells for important milestones, including the first case from Shanghai to Hong Kong, the first case from Shanghai to Taiwan, the first case from Shanghai to a foreign country (South Korea), as well as the 400th and 8000th cases nationwide.

Clinical epidemiology research on hematologic diseases led by Professor Lin Guowei has long been at the forefront in China. Since 1985, large-scale clinical epidemiological surveys of hematologic diseases have been conducted in the Shanghai area. The department was the first to report the prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia among adolescents, women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and older adults. This work is of important value for implementing primary prevention and early diagnosis of iron deficiency. In 2003, led by the Department of Hematology of Huashan Hospital, the Shanghai Sino-American Joint Leukemia Collaborative Group was established, combining clinical epidemiology with research in molecular biology, cytogenetics, cell morphology, and immunology, and collaborating with hematologic oncology experts at the University of Colorado to conduct etiological and diagnostic research on leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, lymphoma, and aplastic anemia. Clinical epidemiology research on hematologic diseases has received more than 10 awards, including the First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, the Second Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the Ministry of Health, the Third Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from Shanghai Municipality, and the Third Prize for Medical Science and Technology Progress from Shanghai Municipality. In 2022, Professor Wang Xiaoqin served as Chair of the Clinical Epidemiology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association.

Through long-term clinical practice, the Hematology Research Laboratory has accumulated extensive experience in the morphological diagnosis of hematologic diseases and enjoys a high reputation in Shanghai’s hematology community. For many years, it has continuously provided cytomorphological consultations for difficult hematologic diseases from throughout Shanghai and other provinces and cities. Several rare and difficult hematologic cases in China and abroad have been reported. In 2002, with support from the National Academic and Scientific and Technological Publishing Fund, the monograph 《Essentials of the Cytomorphology of Clinically Difficult Hematologic Diseases》, edited by Professor Ji Meirong, was published.

Lymphoid and Plasma Cell Disease MDT

Since 2006, the department has been the first in China to conduct clinical research on immunochemotherapy for primary central nervous system lymphoma. Nearly 80% of newly diagnosed patients can achieve complete remission after immuno-targeted therapy. The department has accumulated extensive experience in monitoring and managing the toxic and adverse effects of high-dose methotrexate chemotherapy and in maintenance treatment after remission. In 2014, it held China’s first national continuing education course, 《New Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma》, which received widespread praise from the participants. Since 2019, Huashan Hematology has hosted the annual Symposium on Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lymphoid and Plasma Cell Tumors of Special Extranodal Organs, focusing on rare extranodal hematologic malignancies such as primary central nervous system lymphoma, POEMS syndrome, and hemophagocytic syndrome; exploring their pathogenesis; and studying innovative therapies and prognostic assessment for these diseases. In May 2021, the Chinese Central Nervous System Lymphoma Working Group of the Hematologic Oncology Professional Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association was officially established, with Professor Chen Tong as its leader. In September 2022, the Chinese Expert Consensus on Clinical Practice for Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma, led by the Department of Hematology of Huashan Hospital, was published in Journal of Hematology & Oncology (Q1, IF=23.1).

| Research |--------------

The department undertakes research projects including the National Major Scientific Research Program, the Key, General, and Young Scientist Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key R&D Program projects, the national capacity-building program for multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment of major diseases, open projects for translational medicine research of National Clinical Medical Centers, and major Shanghai municipal projects. It has published 25 monographs. It currently has 1 Shanghai Leading Talent, 1 Shanghai Medical Leading Talent, 1 Ministry of Education New Century Excellent Talent, 1 Shanghai Outstanding Academic Leader, 2 Shanghai Pujiang Talents, and 1 person under the Shanghai Young Scientific and Technological Talents Yangfan Program. Over the past 5 years, it has undertaken 13 national-level projects and 3 provincial/ministerial-level projects, and many research findings have been published in high-impact, internationally leading journals in the field, including Journal of Hematology & Oncology, Blood, Nature Biotechnology, and Science Advances.

Physicians in the department hold positions including Chair of the Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, Vice Chair of the Specialized Committee on Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine of the Chinese Society of Geriatric Medicine, Vice Chair of the Hematology Branch of the Shanghai Medical Association, Vice President of the Hematology Physicians Branch of the Shanghai Medical Doctor Association, member and youth member of the Hematologic Oncology Professional Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, Youth Member of the 10th Committee of the Transfusion Specialty Branch of the Shanghai Medical Association, and leader of the Central Nervous System Lymphoma Working Group of the Hematologic Oncology Professional Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, among other positions. The department maintains good cooperation and exchange with the hematology departments of multiple internationally renowned medical schools and hospitals, including Massachusetts General Hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School in the United States, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the United States, and University Hospital Bonn affiliated with the University of Bonn in Germany.

Visit by the Deputy Director of the Cancer Center and the Director of the Lymphoma Department of Massachusetts General Hospital

Visit by the Director of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Center of Massachusetts General Hospital

| Teaching |--------------

In 1978, the department was approved as one of the first national sites authorized to confer master's degrees, and began enrolling graduate students in the same year. In 1986, it was approved as a site authorized to confer doctoral degrees in hematology. To date, it has trained more than 100 doctoral and master's students and 2 postdoctoral fellows. It currently has 3 doctoral supervisors and 4 master's supervisors. In 2007 and 2013, it respectively passed the evaluations for the first national hematology specialist physician training base and the Shanghai hematology specialist physician training base. Each year, it enrolls 3～5 trainees for the hematology specialist training base.

Experts in the department have participated many times in compiling nationally standardized textbooks for medical schools. Professor Xie Yi served as a member of the editorial board of 《Internal Medicine》; Professor Wang Xiaoqin served as editor-in-chief of 《Evidence-Based Medicine》, a planning textbook for standardized resident training; and Professor Chen Tong served as a member of the editorial board of the 《Hematology》 volume of the planning textbook for standardized resident training. Professors Lin Guowei and Chen Tong successively served as editor-in-chief or deputy editor-in-chief of the major medical reference book 《Practical Internal Medicine》. Professors Lin Guowei and Wang Xiaoqin successively served as editor-in-chief of 《Modern Clinical Epidemiology》. Professor Xie Yi served as the chief translator of the Chinese edition of the 23rd edition of 《Cecil Textbook of Medicine》. 《Modern Clinical Epidemiology》, edited by Professors Lin Guowei and Wang Xiaoqin, received the 2015 Shanghai Municipal Award for Excellent Textbooks of General Higher Education Institutions. 《Modern Clinical Hematology》, edited by Professor Lin Guowei, received the 2014 Fifth China Excellent Publication Book Award.