Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center

The Department of Internal Medicine at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center was originally established as the "Chemotherapy Professional Group" in 1965 and formally became a department in 1972. It is one of the earliest established and most academically strong medical, educational, and research bases for internal medicine oncology in my country, and is also a recognized leading unit in the field of oncology chemotherapy. The department is a national key discipline (oncology) and a national key clinical specialty, relying on the South China National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Tumors and the National Clinical Research Center for New Antitumor Drugs. The discipline is internationally leading in precision immunotherapy for gastrointestinal tumors and chemotherapy and immunotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. It focuses on breakthroughs in targeted drug resistance in lung cancer and the development of bispecific antibody/ADC drugs. It also features precision diagnosis and treatment of lymphoma and CAR-T cell therapy. The discipline is positioned as a core source of new anti-tumor drug clinical research in China and an important output center for the standardization of oncology treatment.

Historical Origins and Spiritual Inheritance:

The Department of Internal Medicine was founded by Professor Guan Zhongzhen, a leading figure in my country's chemotherapy field, and other senior experts. It began as a "Chemotherapy Professional Group" in 1965, officially becoming a department in 1972. In 1983, it was designated by the Ministry of Health as one of the first clinical evaluation bases for new anti-cancer drugs in my country, and is the only Ministry of Health-affiliated clinical research base for new anti-tumor drugs in Guangdong Province. Through the efforts of several generations of academic leaders, including Guan Zhongzhen, Xu Ruihua, and Zhang Li, the department has evolved from a single chemotherapy model to a comprehensive treatment model encompassing chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and cell therapy. It has accumulated over 60 years of rich experience in the clinical research and evaluation of anti-cancer drugs.

Core business operational efficiency:

The department has 6 wards and 26 attending professor positions across its Yuexiu and Huangpu campuses, with 285 beds, including one 12-bed day chemotherapy ward. There are currently 245 staff members, including 95 doctors, 117 nurses, 28 doctoral supervisors, and 30 master's supervisors. In 2025, the department expects 387,772 outpatient visits and 58,795 inpatient admissions. The department's inpatient clinical research enrollment rate is nearly 50%, and almost 50% of its anti-tumor drugs have received marketing approval through departmental clinical trials.

Discipline Positioning and Benchmarking:

It is a national key discipline (oncology), a core clinical unit of the National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Tumors in South China, and a leading unit for several national-level committees, including the Oncology Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association (CACA), the Colorectal Cancer Committee of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO), the Clinical Research Expert Committee of CSCO, and the Immunotherapy Expert Committee of CSCO. Professor Xu Ruihua is an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor Zhang Li is a National Outstanding Physician and one of the Hundred Outstanding Physicians of Guangdong, Professor Wang Feng is a National Outstanding Young Scientist, and Professor Cai Qingqing is a Yangtze River Scholar. The discipline has continuously published groundbreaking research results in top international journals such as Lancet, JCO, JAMA, NEJM, Nature Medicine, and Cancer Cell.

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The Department of Surgery at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Hospital) is a core clinical pillar of one of the four earliest cancer hospitals established in New China. It is a national key discipline (oncology) and a national key clinical specialty, relying on the South China National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Tumors and the National Clinical Research Center for New Drugs (Anti-tumor Drugs). The department is characterized by its surgical treatment of head and neck tumors (thyroid cancer, oral cancer, and laryngeal cancer) and minimally invasive surgery for colorectal cancer. It leads internationally in clinical research on nasopharyngeal carcinoma, digestive system tumors, and lung cancer. Its distinctive systems include a chief expert responsibility system for single-disease oncology and a multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach to diagnosis and treatment. It is positioned as one of the largest and most academically strong oncology centers in China. The center's oncology department ranked first in the 2023 China Hospital Science and Technology Evaluation (STEM) rankings, and also ranked first in total STEM evaluation over the five years from 2019 to 2023.

Historical Origins and Spiritual Inheritance:

Established in March 1964, the center is one of the four earliest cancer hospitals established in New China. After more than sixty years of development, it has become one of the largest and most academically strong oncology bases in China, integrating medical treatment, teaching, research, and prevention. It plays a leading role in cancer prevention and treatment nationwide, especially in South China and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and its academic standing and overall strength are among the best in the country. The center has two campuses, Yuexiu and Huangpu, with a total of 2,245 beds (1,571 in Yuexiu and 674 in Huangpu). The center boasts 3 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 3 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 231 doctoral supervisors, and 334 master's supervisors. In 1998, the center took the lead in implementing the chief expert responsibility system for single-disease oncology in the country, and organized the formulation of multidisciplinary comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plans for major diseases. In the past five years, more than 92 research results from the front line of clinical practice have been internationally recognized and adopted by global oncology diagnosis and treatment standards and guidelines.

Core business operational efficiency:

The center sees 2.558 million outpatient and emergency visits and 222,000 inpatient admissions annually, ranking among the top oncology hospitals in China in terms of medical workload. It performs nearly 50,000 surgical procedures annually, with minimally invasive surgeries accounting for nearly 40%. The center boasts a state-of-the-art radiotherapy center in Asia, and performs multiple robotic minimally invasive surgeries. In January 2025, the center became one of the first oncology hospitals in China and the first in South China to receive accreditation from the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), and its minimally invasive surgical training has reached international top standards. The center's English-language journal, Cancer Communications, has an impact factor of 24.9 (JCR 2024), ranking first among comprehensive oncology journals in Asia.

Discipline Positioning and Benchmarking:

It is home to the National Key Discipline (Oncology), the National Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Tumors in South China, a Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, and the National Clinical Trial Research Center for New Drugs (Anti-tumor Drugs). It is also the affiliated unit of the Guangdong Provincial Cancer Center and the Guangdong Provincial Esophageal Cancer Institute. In 2023, it ranked 1st in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) rankings for Oncology in China, and 1st in the overall STEM rankings for the five years from 2019 to 2023. It ranked 8th in Hematology (1st among oncology hospitals), 9th in Gastroenterology, and 9th in Thoracic Surgery. In the 2024 Nature Index rankings, which reflects the high-quality publication output of global research institutions, the center ranked 5th among global cancer centers.

The South China Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Tumors; the Joint Laboratory of Sun Yat-sen University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences for Frontier Technologies in Ion Radiotherapy; the supporting unit for the National Key Research and Development Program (Clinical Transformation of Domestic Ion Radiotherapy Equipment); a National Key Clinical Specialty (Oncology, Radiotherapy); one of the first units in China to be approved for the configuration of large-scale proton and heavy ion medical equipment; the Department of Radiotherapy has conducted more than 200 clinical studies in the past 5 years, published nearly 1,000 high-level papers, won 2 National Science and Technology Progress Awards, and more than 20 research results have rewritten international clinical guidelines. As an independent member of NRG, it conducts international clinical trials. The heavy ion center under construction will rely on the Cancer Medical Science Center of Sun Yat-sen University, integrating "medical treatment, education, research and prevention" to form a complete transformation chain from cutting-edge scientific research to clinical application.

1. Historical Origins and Spiritual Inheritance

The Department of Radiation Oncology at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center was founded in 1964 by Professor Xie Zhiguang, a renowned radiologist in my country. It is one of the earliest established radiotherapy centers for tumors in the country and is the largest radiotherapy center in Asia, treating the most cancer patients annually. After more than 60 years of development, the Department of Radiation Oncology has become one of the largest and most powerful radiation oncology departments in the world. Its core spirit is "from precision radiotherapy to particle therapy, always pursuing precise targeting of tumors and ultimate protection of normal tissues." The proton/heavy ion project has been planned for more than ten years. Relying on the Huangpu Campus, the proton and heavy ion therapy center was built. It inherits the academic spirit of precise targeting, organ protection, domestic production and transformation, and multidisciplinary comprehensive cancer treatment, and integrates the accumulation of traditional photon radiotherapy with cutting-edge particle radiotherapy technology.

1. Core Business Efficiency

The Yuexiu and Huangpu campuses have a total of 276 inpatient beds, equipped with 15 linear accelerators (including one MRI-guided direct-acting accelerator and one TOMO treatment machine), two brachytherapy machines, and other advanced equipment, achieving a precision radiotherapy rate of over 95%. The center treats over 12,000 radiotherapy patients annually, placing it at the forefront of comprehensive nasopharyngeal carcinoma treatment worldwide. The center will have 5 heavy ion therapy chambers, 10 linear accelerators, and 71 other advanced large-scale medical devices, forming a top-tier tumor diagnosis and treatment cluster in China. It is expected to handle approximately 6,000 outpatient visits daily, with approximately 1,100 beds. The center leverages Asia's largest radiotherapy platform to establish a comprehensive quality control system encompassing MDT (Multidisciplinary Team) oncology consultations, particle radiotherapy target delineation, radiation physics plan validation, particle beam irradiation, and long-term follow-up. It is equipped with a 360° rotating gantry, pencil beam scanning system, and AI adaptive TPS (Total Physical Stratification) treatment planning system. The center has assembled interdisciplinary teams in clinical oncology, radiation physics, radiobiology, and biomedical engineering. It undertakes clinical trials of particle radiotherapy for complex and refractory solid tumors, conducts preclinical and registration clinical research on domestically produced multi-ion radiotherapy equipment, and provides standardized training for particle radiotherapy professionals in Taiwan.

1. Discipline Positioning: The Tianhe Campus project is a key public welfare medical project in Guangdong Province, aiming to create the most comprehensive, largest, and highest-level oncology center in China. The Department of Radiotherapy is a national key clinical specialty construction project (approved in 2021). It is a leading research center in the field of particle radiotherapy in China, and a national-level proton and heavy ion clinical translation platform in South China; its research and development of multi-ion (proton + carbon ion + helium ion) integrated radiotherapy is at the international forefront; it benchmarks the clinical quality control standards of heavy ion centers in Japan and Germany and proton centers in the United States; it leads the formulation of relevant industry standards for the standardization of particle radiotherapy bioefficacy and target area, and promotes the breaking of the overseas monopoly on domestic ion radiotherapy equipment.