Gastroenterology

Peking University Third Hospital’s Department of Gastroenterology, as one of the first batch of National Key Clinical Specialties, was established at the beginning of the hospital’s founding in 1958. Its predecessor was the Gastroenterology Group of the Department of Internal Medicine. Through the unremitting efforts of several generations, it has developed into the Peking University Center for Gastrointestinal Disease Research, integrating outpatient services, inpatient wards, a gastrointestinal radiography room, a gastrointestinal motility room, a pathology laboratory, and an endoscopy unit. At present, the Department of Gastroenterology has more than 190 staff members, including 74 physicians and 92 nurses.

At the department’s establishment in 1958, Professor Zheng Zhitian was transferred from Peking University First Hospital to Peking University Third Hospital, where he established the Department of Internal Medicine Teaching and Research and served as director of internal medicine. He led the Department of Gastroenterology in carrying out gastroscopy, diagnostic laparoscopy, liver biopsy, and other examinations, making our department one of the earliest units in China to perform digestive endoscopy examinations at that time. Many renowned experts came to our department to study. The use of endoscopy in our department has witnessed the development of digestive endoscopy technology in China, from the earliest rigid endoscopes, semi-flexible gastroscopes, and fiberoptic gastroscopes to electronic endoscopes, electronic chromoendoscopes, magnifying endoscopes, and blue-laser endoscopes. Every technological advance and every successful breakthrough embodies the countless days and nights of effort and dedication of our predecessors.

In September 1984, with the approval of the leaders of Peking Medical University and Peking University Third Hospital, the Department of Gastroenterology was separated from the Department of Internal Medicine and established as an independent Department of Gastroenterology of Peking University Third Hospital, with Professor Li Yinong as its director. In 1985, with the support of the Ministry of Health and the leaders of Peking Medical University, the Department of Gastroenterology built a clinical experimental base of 300m2. The entire building was divided into two floors. The first floor was the endoscopy unit, which introduced advanced diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, including electronic endoscopes, endoscopic ultrasonography, and laparoscopic ultrasonography; the second floor was the laboratory, including a pathophysiology room, biochemistry room, cell room, and others. The establishment of the research base of the Department of Gastroenterology was still uncommon in China at that time and laid the foundation for the department’s development.

In May 1985, with the approval of Peking Medical University, the Peking Medical University Center for Gastrointestinal Disease Research was established. This marked the formation of a complete and independent medical, teaching, and research system in the Department of Gastroenterology, including independent outpatient services, emergency services, inpatient wards, an endoscopy unit, a laboratory, and an X-ray examination room, providing favorable conditions for the rapid advancement of the discipline. Professor Li Yinong fully assisted Professor Zheng Zhitian and carried out extensive work in establishing and developing the Center for Gastrointestinal Disease Research.

In 2006, the building area of the endoscopy unit increased to more than 600 square meters. In 2007, on the basis of investment by Fujinon, the Department of Gastroenterology established an endoscopy training center, which became a formal national endoscopy training base for gastroenterologists. At the end of 2016, it became one of the first national ERCP training bases. The endoscopy unit currently has the following advanced equipment: electronic endoscopy processors; Doppler electronic ultrasonography gastroscopes (radial scanning, sector scanning, and miniprobe); capsule endoscopes; electronic double-balloon enteroscopes; new electronic colonoscopes; new electronic duodenoscopes; endoscopic ultrasound miniprobes; ultrathin transnasal gastroscopes; electronic magnifying endoscopes + the FICE system; and an endoscopic blue-laser imaging diagnostic system. The pathology room of the Department of Gastroenterology has Nikon80i microscopes, Nikon SMZ1500 stereomicroscopes, and other equipment. The gastrointestinal radiography room of the Department of Gastroenterology has advanced equipment such as a Toshiba digital gastrointestinal X-ray machine.

In 2012, the number of beds in the department increased from the original 31 to 39; in 2014, it increased to two wards with a total of 60 beds. In 2012, the new endoscopy center began operation. Over the years, the Department of Gastroenterology of Peking University Third Hospital pioneered multiple firsts in endoscopy in China: in 1974, it was the first to perform ERCP; in 1982, it was the first to perform magnifying endoscopy and single-operator colonoscopy; in 1985, it was the first to perform endoscopic ultrasonography; in 1991, it was the first to perform endoscopic treatment for early gastric cancer; and in 1995, it was the first to perform percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. These advanced technologies and equipment have solved many difficult problems in the diagnosis and treatment of clinical patients. In 2009, it became a National Key Clinical Specialty. While developing advanced endoscopic techniques, the Department of Gastroenterology successively established a gastrointestinal radiography room and a digestive pathology laboratory. In 1978, the Peking University Third Hospital Research Office of Gastrointestinal Diseases, including the digestive pathology room, was founded, and Professor Ye Simao made important contributions to the establishment of the digestive pathology room. In 1980, Professor Lin Sanren introduced Japan’s air-barium double-contrast radiography technique to our department, providing an effective means for detecting early gastric cancer. Our department became the first in China to perform air-barium double-contrast radiography. The advanced nature of this technique has been maintained to the present day, especially the air-barium double-contrast radiography technique for the small intestine; a large number of patients from outside Beijing and from many renowned hospitals in Beijing are still referred to our hospital. Professor Zheng Zhitian began planning the digestive pathology room from the beginning of the hospital’s establishment. He developed advanced laboratory examination techniques in China at that time, including parietal cell antibody and alpha-fetoprotein examinations. Combining gastric mucosal biopsy findings with gastroscopic findings was an innovation pioneered in China and brought hope to clinical patients.

In the early 1980s, our department established a departmental development principle oriented toward subspecialty groups and aimed at driving the overall development of the department. It established the Upper Gastrointestinal Group, Colorectal Group, Small Intestine Group, Liver Disease Group, Gastrointestinal Radiography Group, and Pathology Laboratory Group. Subsequently, the Gastrointestinal Motility Group and Biliopancreatic Disease Group were established. Advanced management concepts and outstanding academic achievements attracted colleagues from across China to come for further training and study. In 1981, the first National Gastroenterology Refresher Course was held; thereafter, a training course was held every year, training a large number of visiting physicians from different institutions throughout China. The achievements obtained received assistance and recognition from international colleagues. The late renowned Japanese endoscopy experts Professor Tadayoshi Takemoto and Professor Hiko-o Shirakabe visited our hospital many times in the 1980s and 1990s to lecture on and demonstrate new developments in Japanese endoscopy and gastrointestinal radiography.

Guided by the goal of solving practical clinical problems and using clinical research as a means, the Upper Gastrointestinal Group has conducted multiple leading and advanced clinical scientific studies in China and abroad while developing clinical techniques, achieving outstanding results. In the 1970s, Professor Zheng Zhitian of our department was the first to discover the successful treatment of peptic ulcer disease with furazolidone, pioneering antibiotic treatment for ulcer disease. This achievement received the second prize of the Beijing Science and Technology Progress Award in 1988 and the third prize of the Ministry of Health Science and Technology Progress Award in 1989. Beginning in 1986, the “Research on New Methods for the Early Diagnosis of Gastric Cancer,” led by Professor Lin Sanren of the Department of Gastroenterology, successively received National Seventh Five-Year Plan and Eighth Five-Year Plan key research project funding. It pioneered a sequential gastric cancer screening method suited to China’s national conditions. This achievement received the third prize of the Ministry of Health Science and Technology Progress Award in 1991 and the third prize of the Guanghua Science and Technology Foundation Award in 1992. In 1996, Professors Lin Sanren and Zhou Liya conducted a 10-year follow-up study on the relationship between Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer in a high-incidence area of gastric cancer in Shandong, making a Chinese contribution to clarifying the relationship between Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer. Beginning in 2006, Professor Zhou Liya successively undertook National Eleventh Five-Year Plan and Twelfth Five-Year Plan science and technology support program projects, achieving breakthrough progress in the diagnosis and treatment of Helicobacter pylori. This achievement received the second prize of the Ministry of Education Science and Technology Progress Award in 2014 and the second prize of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Progress Award in 2015. With support from the Beijing Natural Science Foundation–Haiyuan Original Innovation Joint Fund, Professor Ding Shigang developed a light-field 3D confocal endoscope for diagnosing early esophageal cancer and gastric cancer. With support from the National Key Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, he conducted verification of the clinical application effects of high-definition electronic endoscopy, as well as research on tumor intervention and efficacy evaluation based on nano-molecular imaging probes. In 2015, the Department of Gastroenterology was approved as the Beijing Key Laboratory for Research on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection and Upper Gastrointestinal Diseases.

On April 26, 1974, Professor Lin Sanren of our department was the first in China to carry out endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Therapeutic ERCP began in 1993, including stone extraction by endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST). After Professor Huang Yonghui joined our department in 2004, the Biliopancreatic Disease Group was formally established. In addition to routine ERCP diagnostic and therapeutic techniques such as bile duct stone extraction, stent placement for benign and malignant strictures of the extrahepatic bile duct, and pancreatic duct stent placement, the Biliopancreatic Disease Group has conducted multiple innovative clinical scientific research studies since its establishment, developed multiple advanced new technologies in China, and obtained multiple national utility model patents, some of which have entered the stage of clinical translation. Members of the Biliopancreatic Disease Group have undertaken and participated in multiple national and provincial- and ministerial-level projects, including National Science and Technology Support Program projects, National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, the “Research on the Prevention and Control of Major Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases” under the National Key Research and Development Program, and Beijing Capital Special Program projects, among various other clinical research projects.

Over nearly 20 years of development, the Gastrointestinal Motility Group has gradually established systematic research directions. These mainly include the clinical and basic research of functional gastrointestinal disorders (irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, functional esophageal disorders, functional constipation, and biliary dysfunction, among others), particularly research on comorbidity between functional gastrointestinal disorders and mental disorders; clinical diagnosis and treatment and pathogenesis research of gastroesophageal reflux disease; and research on intestinal microecology and the function of the brain-gut axis. It has also established a multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment platform for gastrointestinal motility-related diseases. The Motility Group has undertaken, participated in, and completed multiple national and provincial- and ministerial-level projects, including National Natural Science Foundation of China projects, Ministry of Science and Technology 863 projects, Twelfth Five-Year Plan science and technology support program projects, Ministry of Education Doctoral Program Foundation projects, and Beijing Natural Science Foundation projects.

The Colorectal Group has strong overall capabilities, and its level of diagnosis and treatment for common and difficult colorectal diseases ranks among the leading levels in China. It has successively undertaken and participated in more than 20 research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Science and Technology 863 projects, the Ministry of Health Scientific Research Fund, the Health Industry Scientific Research Special Fund, the Special Scientific Research Fund for Doctoral Programs in Higher Education Institutions, the Beijing Natural Science Foundation, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Science and Technology annual science and technology plan projects, clinical key projects of Peking University Third Hospital, the Scientific Research Startup Fund for Returned Overseas Scholars, and the Youth Fund. Members of the specialty group have repeatedly been invited to present research achievements at important domestic and international conferences in the form of plenary presentations or posters.

In addition, the Liver Disease Specialty Group and the Small Intestinal Disease Specialty Group are also continuously developing and growing.

Under the leadership of the current director, Professor Ding Shigang, the Department of Gastroenterology continues to develop rapidly and is gradually developing into a center for the diagnosis and treatment of difficult, critical, and severe gastrointestinal diseases, an intestinal disease center, and a biliopancreatic disease and day-care ward center, with the main campus as the center and the Airport Campus and Northern Campus as the two wings. It is establishing a diagnosis and treatment network for early cancers and precancerous lesions of the esophagus, stomach, and colorectum; improving the green channel and diagnosis and treatment procedures for upper gastrointestinal bleeding; establishing a diagnosis and treatment center for difficult biliopancreatic and motility disorders; and establishing clinical, scientific, and basic research centers for gastrointestinal cancers and precancerous lesions and HP-related diseases. The Department of Gastroenterology actively leverages its advantages, including its status as a national digestive endoscopy training base, and strives to build a world-class center for the diagnosis and research of gastrointestinal diseases!