Department of Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine

The Department of Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine Diagnosis and Treatment of Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital was officially established in 2009. It was formed by the merger of the PET-CT Center established in 2004 and the Department of Nuclear Medicine (then known as the Isotope Laboratory) established in 1958. Professor Xu Wengui served as the first department director and subject leader.

After more than ten years of rapid development, it has gradually become a first-class nuclear medicine professional department in China integrating diagnosis, treatment, scientific research and teaching.

At present, the main departments of the hospital mainly include four parts: PET-CT center, SPECT-CT center, nuclide therapy ward and molecular imaging basic laboratory. The Department of Nuclear Medicine of Airport Campus was also officially established in November 2019.

The department has a reasonable talent echelon, clear division of labor, full of innovative vitality and strong competitiveness. There are currently 63 staff members, 7 with senior professional titles, 14 with intermediate professional titles, and 42 with junior professional titles, including 19 physicians, including 2 postdoctoral fellows, 9 PhDs (3 are currently studying), and 7 masters.

It has made great achievements in teaching and talent training. It has trained nearly 70 doctoral and master's students, and has provided a large number of professional backbones to many places to enrich themselves in the front line of clinical scientific research.

The department undertakes 3 National Natural Science Foundation projects, 4 provincial and ministerial-level projects such as the Tianjin Natural Science Foundation, 6 school and bureau-level projects such as the Tianjin Municipal Education Commission, 2 National Clinical Center projects, and many other horizontal projects;

Participated in 3 projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology during the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” and “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan”.

Undertaken and initiated 5 multi-center clinical studies and participated in more than 10 clinical trials;

Won one Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Progress Third Prize, one Tianjin Medical University Science and Technology Achievement Award, and one Tianjin Municipal Achievement Appraisal Award;

He has published more than 90 academic papers, of which nearly 30 are included in SCI, with a cumulative impact factor of more than 70 points, and he has edited or participated in the editing of many academic books.

Pioneering and enterprising (2004-2008)

In 2004, the hospital introduced positron emission computed tomography (PET-CT), established a PET-CT center, and introduced Professor Xu Wengui from Bethune Medical University as department director and subject leader.

When the PET-CT Center was first established, it brought together professionals from various disciplines and hired Professor Bao Runxian as a consultant, representing the top level of the hospital's medical imaging field at that time.

Through the unremitting efforts of all members of the general practice, clinicians have gradually become familiar with, recognized and relied on PET-CT from strangers and even doubts. The number of PET-CT examinations has also continued to rise. By 2008, the number of annual PET-CT examinations had reached 1,728, accounting for more than 50% of the city's total.

On December 19, 2008, the PET-CT Center and the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly built a joint laboratory for molecular imaging that was officially launched. It received project support from the Ministry of Finance to build a platform for cell and animal experiments and the research and development of new molecular probes.

After repeated exploration and attempts, basic and preclinical research on the development and imaging of a series of new radioactive drugs, including 18F-FES estrogen receptor imaging, 18F-FLT cell proliferation imaging, 18F-FHBG reporter gene imaging, 11C-PD153035 epidermal growth factor imaging, 11C-acetate imaging, and 18F-choline imaging, have been carried out, and fruitful scientific research results have been achieved.

From learning and exploration at the beginning to becoming more familiar with it later, every step in the development of the PET-CT center has been steady and steady.

By the end of 2008, the PET-CT center had a total of 7 employees, including 4 doctors (all with postgraduate degrees).

Director Xu Wengui led everyone to deeply explore the clinical application of PET-CT in tumor diagnosis and treatment, gradually formed its own characteristics, and began to emerge in the field of tumor molecular imaging across the country.

Forge ahead (2009-2020)

In 2009, the PET-CT Center merged with the Department of Nuclear Medicine to formally establish the Department of Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine Diagnosis and Treatment. Professor Xu Wengui from the original PET-CT Center was appointed as the department director, forming a more powerful force. Since then, the development of the department has entered a fast lane.

After the establishment of the new department, under the leadership of Director Xu Wengui, the inspection process was further sorted out and standardized, a report quality evaluation team was established, business learning and scientific research investment were strengthened, department system construction and discipline construction were strengthened, and efforts were made to build the nuclear medicine brand of Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital.

In order to meet the growing examination needs of patients, the department comprehensively upgraded the cyclotron (GEMINITRACE) and PET-CT (GEDiscoveryST4 type) in October 2014, and successively purchased PET-CT machines (GEDiscoveryelite type), SPECT (G EDiscoveryinfina), SPECT-CT machine (SIMENS Symbio Intervo16), SPECT-CT machine (GEDiscoveryNM/CT670PRO), and breast-specific PET machine (PEMi), which have significantly shortened the waiting time for appointments and have been well received by patients.

Taking both diagnosis and treatment into account is a specialty of nuclear medicine. The department established a nuclide therapy ward on August 9, 2010, which mainly carries out 131 iodine treatment for differentiated thyroid cancer, radioimmunotherapy for liver cancer, radioactive seed implantation therapy, 89SrCl2 treatment for multiple bone metastases, etc. The introduction and development of related technologies have filled many gaps in the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and even Tianjin City, bringing hope and good news to the majority of cancer patients.

On November 18, 2019, the Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine Diagnosis and Treatment Department of Airport Hospital was established relying on the high-quality hardware resources of Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital and the policy advantages of the bonded zone.

So far, the department (headquarters and airport) has a total of two PET-CT units, three SPECT (including SPECT-CT) units, one cyclotron, and 19 radioactive isolation single rooms.

The clinical workload of the department continues to grow. As of the end of 2020, the annual PET-CT examination volume has increased from the initial 500 to nearly 9,000, the annual SPECT examination volume has increased from 3,409 before the merger of the department in 2008 to 9,620, and the nuclide ward has admitted nearly 1,000 patients annually.

The department strengthens external exchanges and learning, adheres to the combination of "going out" and "inviting in", and has successively sent business backbones to Nanfang Hospital, University Hospital of Zurich in Switzerland, South Korea Atomic Energy Hospital, and MD Anderson Cancer Center in the United States for exchanges and studies. It has also hired many well-known experts as visiting professors and cooperative professors, which has improved the department's business and scientific research levels and broadened its horizons.

After more than ten years of hard work, the Department of Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine Diagnosis and Treatment has always followed the forefront of world imaging and nuclear medicine with a spirit of pioneering and innovation, and has continued to grow and develop.

As of the end of 2020, the department has a total of 63 employees, including 2 postdoctoral fellows, 9 PhDs (3 are currently studying), 20 masters, 7 with senior professional titles, and 14 with intermediate professional titles.

Among them, Professor Xu Wengui, director of the department, won the Third Doctors’ Day Excellence Award and was named the first “Tianjin Famous Doctor” by the Tianjin Municipal Health Commission in 2020.

Li Xiaofeng won the title of 131 Innovative Talents in Tianjin Universities in 2017;

Li Xiaofeng and Yu Xiaozhou were awarded the title of Outstanding Young Innovative Talents of the hospital.

As a standardized training base for resident doctors in Tianjin, the department recruits regular trainees and advanced students all year round, and is committed to training doctoral and master's degree students. It has trained nearly 70 graduate students in total, constantly accumulating energy for the future development of nuclear oncology medicine in my country.

In addition, the department has trained young doctors through graduate student meetings, departmental academic lectures, and reading competitions, and has achieved fruitful results. Many of them have won awards in multiple domestic PET/CT reading competitions, demonstrating the technical level and elegance of nuclear medicine in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital, and winning recognition and praise from their peers.

In terms of basic scientific research, the department undertakes 3 National Natural Science Foundation projects, 5 provincial and ministerial-level projects such as the Tianjin Natural Science Foundation, 10 school and bureau-level projects such as the Tianjin Municipal Education Commission, 2 National Clinical Center projects, and many other hospital-level and horizontal projects;

Participated in 3 projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology, including the “12th Five-Year Plan” and the “13th Five-Year Plan”, and won one third-class Tianjin Science and Technology Progress Award, one Tianjin Medical University Science and Technology Achievement Award, one Tianjin Achievement Appraisal, and published more than 90 academic papers, of which nearly 30 were included in SCI, with a cumulative impact factor of more than 70 points.

On December 18, 2015, Professor Xu Wengui took the lead in establishing the Nuclear Oncology Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association and was elected as the first chairman. Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital also became the first national committee unit in the field of nuclear medicine in Tianjin.

Many people in the department have successively served as directors, youth directors, committee chairmen, committee members and youth committee members of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association. They have taken the lead in organizing multiple national multi-center clinical studies and the formulation of PET-CT diagnosis and treatment standards. They have undertaken a large amount of organizational work and more social responsibilities, and their disciplinary status in the country has been further enhanced.

The Department of Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine Diagnosis and Treatment has always been a mainstay and has a sense of responsibility as a leader in the industry. It has never stopped making breakthroughs and innovations, striving to contribute to the cause of cancer prevention and treatment in my country.