The Department of Oncology, Xijing Hospital, was founded in 1993, and has grown to be one of the largest cancer centers, serving a large population in northwest China. There are 80 inpatient beds available in the general medical oncology wards with excellent facilities. Bioclean wards, well-equipped labs for cancer diagnosis and research, and multifunctional treatment rooms are all available for the care of cancer patients. Each year, the department has nearly 2,600 inpatients and 9,000 outpatient encounters.
At the moment, the Department of Oncology has 45 oncologists, allied nurses and professionals, all specializing in medical oncology, of which 70% hold a Ph.D. /M.D. degree.
Dr. Wenchao Liu, the director of the department, is an excellent oncologist whose research, clinical, and teaching career has focused on comprehensive cancer treatment. She serves as a supervisor for postgraduate students in the Fourth Military Medical University. Currently, she is the deputy director of Medical Oncology of the Chinese Medical Association Shaanxi Branch. She also serves as the deputy director of thermotherapy for the Shaanxi Anti-cancer Association and the director of Medical Oncology of Chinese Medical Association Shaanxi Branch. Her other professional memberships include the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology, the standing committee of the Professional Military Oncology Committee, the active member of American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), etc. She has been to the Mayo Clinic for international clinical trial training, as well as to the University of Nebraska Medical Center as a visiting scholar.
The Department of Oncology has been authorized to confer Master and Doctorate degrees since the year 2000. The overall scientific goals of the department are cancer prevention and control, including research on mechanisms underlying cancer metastasis and relapse, and comprehensive multidisciplinary treatment of cancer. A wide range of clinical research studies is in progress. As a key research institute, the department holds several basic research grants including 7 from the National Nature Science Foundation of China, 2 cooperative grants from the National 863 Science and Technology Project, 2 from the Military Medical Scientific Research Foundation and 4 from the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province. Members of the department have published over 60 articles, conference papers, book chapters, as well as editing books, etc. A total of 9 doctoral and 16 master students finished their training program in the department. Many important conferences, including Asia Pacific Clinical Oncology Research Conference and the Peak Conference of Tumor Treatment in West China, were sponsored by the department.
The Department of Oncology has become one of the leading comprehensive cancer centers in China by applying innovative diagnostic techniques, delivering state-of-the-art treatment, developing patients support services and clinical laboratory research, as well as teaching undergraduate and post-graduate students.
Clinical achievements:
1. Establishment of a cancer-related diagnosis, treatment and prevention system; and standardization of the clinical practice guidelines for the care and treatment of cancer patients.
2. Standardizing the chemotherapy of cancer.
3. Thermo-chemotherapy under extracorporeal circulation.
4. Extracorporeal thermotherapy.
5. Microwave and thermal ablation of tumor.
6. High-dose chemotherapy with stem-cell rescue.
7. Dendritic cell immunotherapy.
8. Clinical trails. The department has conducted over 30 clinical studies to date, with active collaborations both regionally and internationally. Currently a wide range of clinical trials are in progress. In addition, the Breast Cancer Research Group is a major contributor to national and international trials of new treatments. In two international multi-center clinical trials, this research group achieved an excellent outcome and was ranked in the top 50 in the world and the 2nd in China.
