Pathology

Department of Pathology

The Department of Pathology of Fudan University Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital was established in the hospital’s early years (the “Ximen Hospital for Women and Children,” founded in 1884), making it one of the earliest hospitals in China to be equipped with a pathology department. By 1980, it had become one of the largest specialized pathology disciplines for obstetrics and gynecology in China, playing an important role in promoting and guiding the formation and development of specialized obstetric and gynecologic pathology in the country. Since the beginning of the new century, its medical workload has consistently ranked among the highest nationwide. In particular, the total number of gynecologic pathology diagnoses exceeded 300,000 cases annually for four consecutive years, while consultations on difficult cases approached 20,000; the number of gynecologic cervical cytology diagnoses, especially, averaged more than 200,000 cases per year for four consecutive years, ranking first nationwide.

The department currently has 48 employees, including 23 pathologists/teachers and 25 technical personnel. Among the physicians/teachers in active service, 10 hold senior professional titles, 5 have doctoral degrees, and 9 have master’s degrees. Among the technical personnel, there are 3 supervising technicians; 1 and 3 hold doctoral and master’s degrees, respectively. More than 10 physicians are admitted for advanced training each year.

The department director, Professor Zhou Xianrong, currently serves as head of the National Gynecologic Pathology Group and head of the Pathology Group of the Shanghai Society of Gynecologic Oncology. He participated in compiling the latest WHO standard reference work on gynecologic pathology, the “2014 WHO Pathological Classification of Tumors of the Female Reproductive Tract,” and in revising a number of domestic guidelines on standards for the diagnosis and treatment of gynecologic oncology pathology. With decades of experience in diagnosing difficult gynecologic diseases, he is a nationally recognized authority in gynecologic pathology diagnosis.

Department Features

1. Gynecologic histopathological diagnosis

2. Molecular pathology precision-medicine testing: including Cobas4800 HPV testing and quantitative HPV testing with genotyping, RNA Scope hybridization testing, immunohistochemistry, fluorescence quantitative PCR testing, first-generation and NGS sequencing technologies, fluorescence in situ hybridization for fusion-gene detection, and more.

3. Gynecologic cytological diagnosis

4. Diagnosis of gestational trophoblastic diseases, as well as pathological diagnosis of the placenta and perinatal autopsies

Teaching

The Department of Pathology of the Affiliated Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fudan University, inherits and develops fine traditions, attaches importance to personnel training, the establishment and implementation of systems, and strict work procedures, thereby ensuring that the development of the discipline remains at the forefront. Since 2016, our department has jointly organized four standardized cervical cytology training courses with the Pathology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and the National Pathology Quality Control Center of the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Cytological diagnosis is at a leading level in China. We teach trainees from all regions of the country the key points and diagnostic criteria of cytological diagnosis, and have continued to work toward popularizing knowledge of cervical cytopathology nationwide and establishing widely recognized cytological diagnostic criteria. Our department places great emphasis on the training of physicians receiving advanced training, undertakes a large amount of advanced-training work each year, and provides high-level pathology professionals for sister institutions throughout the country.

Research

The Department of Pathology of the Affiliated Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fudan University, holds a leading position in the field of gynecologic pathology nationwide, and its volume of gynecologic pathology specimens ranks first in the country. The department conducts, and assists surgical departments in undertaking, more than ?? national-, provincial-, and department/bureau-level scientific research projects.

The department currently has 6 experts for routine pathology consultations, 6 doctoral degree holders, and more than 10 master’s degree holders. It leads 2 National Natural Science Foundation of China projects. Over the past 5 years, the department as a whole has published nearly 20 SCI papers and more than 20 papers in core journals, and has developed mature experience in both gynecologic pathology diagnosis and research practice. Together with clinical departments, it has formed groups for breast pathology, gestational trophoblastic tumors, endometrial pathology, and others, conducting in-depth and comprehensive research on difficult cases.

Our department has taken the lead in establishing the National Gynecologic Pathology Tele-diagnosis Center together with 33 Grade III Class A hospitals from regions throughout China. It has now preliminarily installed the digital slide-scanning system required for the tele-diagnostic system, as well as computer-terminal applications for the online tele-diagnostic system. In line with the latest developments in medical science and technology, we will introduce big-data analysis and an artificial-intelligence automated cytology diagnostic system on the basis of the teleconsultation platform, forming a comprehensive, multidimensional, nationwide model platform for gynecologic cytopathology diagnosis that integrates local big-data analysis, AI learning to establish digital diagnostic standards, and the promotion and application of teleconsultation.

Department Experts