Department of Nuclear Medicine

The Department of Nuclear Medicine at Peking Union Medical College Hospital was established in 1958 and is one of the earliest clinical nuclear medicine departments in China. Since its inception, through the relentless efforts of several generations of nuclear medicine professionals represented by Academician Wang Shizhen and Professor Zhou Qian, the department has gradually developed into a significant center for nuclear medicine medical care, research, and training, making outstanding contributions to the introduction, development, and talent cultivation of nuclear medicine in China.

Currently, the department has specialized groups for PET imaging (PET Center), SPECT imaging, radionuclide therapy, in vitro assays, radiopharmaceuticals, and experimental nuclear medicine research. It conducts over 80 routine diagnostic and therapeutic projects, making it one of the departments with the most comprehensive and numerous nuclear medicine diagnostic and therapeutic projects in the country. Several of these projects were the first established in China, such as myocardial tomographic imaging, liver blood flow and pool imaging, cerebral blood flow perfusion tomography, somatostatin receptor imaging, paper-based screening for neonatal hypothyroidism, red blood cell lifespan and volume measurement, and the 14C-urea breath test for Helicobacter pylori. It was also one of the first to conduct 131I treatment for Graves' disease, having treated over tens of thousands of patients with follow-ups extending over 40 years, with treatment methods and outcomes at the national leading level.

As a clinical pharmacology base for radiopharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Health, it is the only unit in the country that integrates research, small-scale preparation, and clinical application of new nuclear medicine drugs. It has achieved significant results in the design, synthesis, pharmacology, and clinical application of novel imaging agents for the heart, brain, kidneys, inflammation, and tumors.

The department has a strong faculty and research capability, with renowned experts of national and international influence. Since 1989, it has been the only key discipline in nuclear medicine designated by the National Education Commission, and in 2002 it was again designated as a key discipline by the Ministry of Education. It offers doctoral programs and postdoctoral stations, as well as a radiopharmaceutical research and training center built with the assistance of the International Atomic Energy Agency. It undertakes the eight-year clinical nuclear medicine course for undergraduate students at Peking Union Medical College and the foundational nuclear medicine course for graduate students.

Today, the Department of Nuclear Medicine has developed into a comprehensive research base that integrates clinical nuclear medicine (nuclear medicine imaging diagnosis, radionuclide therapy), experimental nuclear medicine, and radiopharmaceutical research, with mutual promotion of medical care, education, and training. The department undertakes multiple tasks in diagnosis, treatment, teaching, and research, equipped with advanced facilities and comprehensive strength at an advanced level in the country.

Currently, there are 39 staff members, including 1 senior academician from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 6 senior titles, 9 associate senior titles, 15 intermediate titles, and 9 junior titles, with a reasonable personnel structure.

3. Academic positions of department personnel in academic organizations

Li Fang: Current member of the standing committee of the Nuclear Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association (Leader of the PET/CT and Molecular Imaging Group), Chairman of the Beijing Nuclear Medicine Branch, Executive Director of the Isotope Industry Association

Lin Yansong: Chairman of the Thyroid Cancer Committee of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO); Vice Chairman of the Thyroid Committee of the Medical Promotion Association; Standing Committee Member of the Thyroid Cancer Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association; Vice Leader of the Therapeutics Group of the Nuclear Medicine Branch of the Chinese Medical Association

Chen Libo: Core member of the Cardiovascular Disease Group

Chen Yonghui: Member of the Radionuclide Therapy Group

Ba Jiantao: Member of the Technology and Continuing Education Group

Du Yanrong: Member of the Radiopharmaceutical Group

Cai Jiong: Member of the Experimental Nuclear Medicine Group

4. Diagnostic and therapeutic technical level (including the treatment of difficult diseases and the implementation of new technologies)

The department currently has 1 PET/CT, 1 PET, 1 PET accelerator, 4 SPECT/CT, 4 SPECT, and 1 gamma camera. Currently, over 80 projects are conducted in nuclear medicine imaging examinations. After years of clinical practice, a number of diagnostic projects with unique characteristics of Peking Union Medical College have emerged, such as somatostatin receptor imaging, lymphatic imaging, in vitro red blood cell labeling liver blood pool and gastrointestinal bleeding imaging, gastrointestinal motility function imaging, and bone marrow imaging, which have gained a certain influence both inside and outside the hospital. The daily workload for nuclear medicine imaging diagnosis is approximately 50 to 80 cases.

In terms of radionuclide therapy, Professor Lin Yansong has rich clinical and research experience in the radioactive nuclide therapy for thyroid cancer. In 1999, he was recognized as an outstanding young scientific talent by the Ministry of Health; he has presided over and completed 4 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation. As the main author, he has completed the 'Expert Consensus on 131I Treatment of Graves' Disease 2010,' 'Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer 2012,' and 'Guidelines for 131I Treatment of Graves' Disease 2013,' as well as the 'Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Recurrent and Metastatic Thyroid Cancer' (August 2015). As the chairman of the CSCO Thyroid Cancer Committee, he presided over the compilation of the 'Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Recurrent and Metastatic Thyroid Cancer' in August 2015 and authored 'Patient Education for Thyroid Cancer' in May 2015. Professor Lin Yansong has been recognized as an outstanding young scientific talent by the Ministry of Health in 1999; he has presided over and completed 4 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation; he has published over 50 articles as the first author or corresponding author on thyroid diseases, including 16 SCI articles, published in high-impact journals such as J Nucl Med, Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging, and Clin Endocrinol Metab. The department has been conducting 131I treatment for hyperthyroidism for over 40 years, establishing a rigorous and standardized diagnosis, treatment plan, and efficacy follow-up procedure, which has become one of the characteristic treatment projects of Peking Union Medical College Hospital. With the establishment of treatment wards in recent years, radionuclide therapy for thyroid cancer and neuroendocrine tumors has been gradually initiated, with the treatment for neuroendocrine tumors being a current innovation in the country. Approximately 120 to 170 cases of hyperthyroidism and 20 to 60 cases of thyroid cancer are treated monthly.

The PET Center is equipped with a complete set of equipment for the production of PET imaging and PET drug preparation, having introduced Siemens' 52-ring 64-slice PET/CT, significantly enhancing the diagnostic level of the PET Center. In addition to the conventional 18F-FDG, various imaging agents such as 18F-FET, 18F-choline, and 11C-acetate have been developed and applied, with 11C-acetate achieving excellent clinical results in primary liver tumors and the urinary system.

The department has basic nuclear medicine and radiopharmaceutical specialized groups and dedicated research personnel, equipped with advanced research facilities such as MicroPET. It undertakes multiple national and internal research projects.

(1) Research situation over the past three years:

(1) Li Fang et al., Capital Medical Development Research Fund 'Research on Radiolabeled Somatostatin Receptor Positive Tumor Imaging Therapeutics,' May 2003 - May 2006, 200,000.

(2) Lin Yansong et al., Natural Science Foundation project 'Application Research of Nuclear Medicine Imaging in Dopamine System-Related Diseases,' 2003 - 2006, 200,000.

(3) Lin Yansong et al., National Natural Science Foundation Special Fund project 'Monitoring Study of Dopamine System Functional Imaging on Acupuncture Treatment Effects in Parkinson's Disease,' January 2006 - December 2006; 80,000.

(4) Cai Jiong et al., National Natural Science Foundation project 'Research on Beta Amyloid Monoclonal Antibodies and Fully Human Antibodies in Alzheimer's Disease,' January 2006 - December 2008; 250,000.

(5) Li Fang et al., National Natural Science Foundation project 'AAV-Mediated Gene Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease Using Beta Amyloid Monoclonal Antibodies,' January 2007 - December 2009.

(6) Zhu Zhaohui et al., National Natural Science Foundation project 'PET In Vivo Study of Myocardial Hypoxia and Mesenchymal Stem Cell Treatment for Myocardial Ischemia,' January 2009 - December 2011.

Additionally, projects funded by the major research fund of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the Huo Yingdong Lung Cancer Special Research Fund, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Foundation for Basic and Clinical Combined Research, as well as the Youth Research Fund of Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

Since 2005, as the leading unit, it has undertaken multiple clinical drug trial tasks from the National Medical Products Administration:

(1) 99mTc-NOETI, Phase II clinical trial

(2) Norharman I, II phase clinical trial

(3) 99mTc-trodat-1 injection Phase I clinical trial

(4) Domestic Levothyroxine Sodium Tablets bioequivalence trial

(5) Clinical trials for 7 types of carbohydrate tumor antigen immunoradiopharmaceutical kits.

Lin Yansong's research on 'Molecular Nuclear Medicine Series Studies on Diseases Related to the Dopamine System' won the third prize of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award in 2006.

Lin Yansong's research on 'Molecular and Clinical Characteristics of Radioactive Iodine-131 Targeted Therapy for Thyroid Diseases' won the Chinese Science and Technology Award in 2015.

Since 2005, 150 papers have been published, including 34 SCI articles, and he has participated in the compilation of over 15 monographs.

Since its establishment in 1958, the Department of Nuclear Medicine has had 4 doctoral supervisors and 9 master's supervisors. Among them, Academician Wang Shizhen, who pioneered nuclear medicine in China, has trained over 40 doctoral, master's, and postdoctoral students; Professor Zhou Qian has trained over 30 doctoral and master's students; other supervisors have trained over 10 graduate students. Many of these students have become key figures in medicine, distributed across the country, with some even abroad. The department has been recognized as a key discipline by the Ministry of Education in 1989 and 2002.