Guided by the principle of "practicing benevolent medicine to serve people," the Oncology Department of Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine was established in 1974. Over its 50-year development, it has evolveda comprehensive integrated traditional Chinesemedicine (TCM)western medicine specialty for cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment,rehabilitation. Recognized as a National High-Level Key Discipline, TCM Advantage Specialty, and Key Specialty by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is also a Key Discipline and Key TCM Oncology Specialty under the Jiangsu Provincial Administration of TCM. The department serves as a master’s, doctoral,postdoctoral training site for TCM internal medicine at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine. It leads multiple nationalprovincial initiatives, including the National Health Commission’s Major Difficult Disease (Gastric Cancer) TCM-Western Medicine DiagnosisTreatment Collaboration Project, the National TCM SpleenStomach Disease Research Base, the Jiangsu Provincial Clinical Research Center for Integrated TCM-Western Oncology,the Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for TCM Cancer PreventionTreatment. Additionally, it chairsco-chairs numerous nationalprovincial professional committees.
Exploring Medical Origins, Scaling New Heights
Adhering to the philosophy of "TCM as the foundation with equal emphasis on TCMwestern medicine and coordinated development of clinical care, education,research”, the department focuses on multidisciplinary integrated diagnosispersonalized TCM-western medicine treatments for lung, gastric, colorectal,breast cancers. It has pioneered a disease-centered multidisciplinary collaboration modelestablished a full-cycle management platform spanning "prevention, treatment, rehabilitation,recurrence prevention" for major cancers. As a national leader in TCM oncology, the department has formulated industry guidelines for gastric cancerpromoted them globally. Grounded in evidence-based medicine, it interprets core TCM theories such as "spleen deficiency with stasis-toxin" and "cancer toxin”, employing therapeutic principles such as "qi-boosting, stasis-resolving,toxin-eliminating therapy" and "cancer-dissolvingtoxin-clearing therapy”.
The department emphasizes staged treatment strategies in TCM, combining syndrome differentiation with disease-specific approaches. Internally administered herbal formulas target root causes through methods like "fortifying vitality, activating blood circulation, detoxifying, strengthening the spleen,eliminating masses," with notable in-house proprietary preparations including Weiliu’an Mixture (Stomach Tumor-Soothing Herbal Blend), Shenxi Capsules, and Zhiling Mycelium. External TCM therapies alleviate symptom clusters in cancer patients, supported by dedicated TCM therapists in outpatientinpatient settings. Specialized clinics address cancer prevention, gastric cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, lymphedema,early-stage lung cancer, providing holistic management of chemotherapy/radiotherapy-induced symptoms. The department handles an annual outpatient volume of 200,000 visits and 10,000 inpatient discharges.
Pursuing Innovation, Advancing with the Times
With a robust talent structure, the department employs over 100 medical staff, managing 150 beds in the main campus62 beds in Zidong campus. Its team includes 40 physicians (21 senior titles), 8 doctoral supervisors, 16 master’s supervisors, and 28 PhD holders. Distinguished members include 2 National Renowned TCM Physicians, 1 Qihuang Scholar, 1 Jiangsu Provincial Renowned TCM Physician,multiple provincial-level talents. Over the past five years, the department has secured 2 National TCM Major Special Projects, 20+ National Natural Science Foundation grants, and more than 20 provincial/ministerial research projects, earning 3 national and 4 provincial awards. It has published over 300 papers and more than 20 academic monographs, consistently ranking top three nationally in clinicalresearch excellence evaluations by authoritative institutions.
Committed to integrating tradition with innovation, the department continues to lead in TCM oncology, advancing both theoretical explorationpractical breakthroughs to benefit cancer patients worldwide.
