Gathering Global Expertise to Establish International Standards in Heavy Ion Therapy

Gathering Global Expertise to Establish International Standards in Heavy Ion Therapy

——Renowned Japanese Experts Professor Hirohiko Tsujii and Professor Tatsumi Kanai Join Our Hospital for Long-Term Collaboration

September 3, 2023 – Professor Hirohiko Tsujii, Vice President of QST Hospital (formerly NIRS) under the National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Director of the International Therapeutic Research Center, and hailed as the "World's Foremost Expert in Heavy Ion Cancer Therapy," along with Professor Tatsumi Kanai, Deputy Director of the Osaka Heavy Ion Therapy Center, Visiting Professor at Gunma University, and Specially Appointed Professor at Osaka University, once again set foot in the beautiful city of Wuwei. Their return to work at the Wuwei Medical Academy of Sciences Cancer Hospital Heavy Ion Center brought them face-to-face with the astounding transformations over the past six years. Their re-engagement marks another step in gathering international expertise in Wuwei, laying the foundation for China's heavy ion therapy to advance toward global standards.

Hirohiko Tsujii, a specially appointed foreign expert at Wuwei Academy of Medical and Sciences Cancer Hospital, serves as Vice President of QST Hospital (formerly NIRS) and Director of the International Therapeutic Research Center. Recognized as the "World's Foremost Expert in Heavy Ion Cancer Therapy," he led the development of the world's first medical heavy ion therapy device capable of generating carbon ion beams in 1994 at the QST Hospital’s Heavy Ion Medical Science Center, successfully performing the world's first heavy ion cancer treatment. Through years of dedicated research, he has accumulated extensive experience in heavy ion therapy and established standardized treatment protocols. In 2006, he became Chairman of the Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group (PTCOG), guiding the global advancement of heavy ion cancer therapy technology.

Tatsumi Kanai, Deputy Director of the Osaka Heavy Ion Therapy Center, Visiting Professor at Gunma University, and Specially Appointed Professor at Osaka University, was a key member of Japan's first heavy ion accelerator (HIMAC) research team. He previously served as Head of Medical Physics at NIRS and Chief Medical Physicist during the establishment of Gunma University’s Heavy Ion Hospital, later mentoring Ph.D. candidates at Gunma University.

From January 2016 to October 2018, Professors Tsujii and Kanai were stationed in Wuwei, playing pivotal roles in quality control, clinical applications, and talent development at the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center. In November 2016, the hospital dispatched a specialized technical training team—comprising radiation oncologists Qi Ying, Zhang Yihe, Li Wanguo, and Sun Jieren, along with medical physicist Lu Xiaoli—to Japan’s NIRS and Gunma University’s GHMC for the International Training Course on Carbon Ion Radiotherapy (ITCCIR). There, they became direct disciples of Professor Tsujii.

The Wuwei Academy of Medical and Sciences Cancer Hospital Heavy Ion Center is China’s first clinical application center for a heavy ion therapy system. Since its official launch in March 2020, it has operated successfully for three years, treating over 902 patients with challenging tumors in areas such as the head, pancreas, and lungs, achieving remarkable outcomes. Patients hail from all provinces across China (including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao) and overseas regions such as Belgium.

Building on this three-year success, the center has pioneered China’s first Cancer Rehabilitation Town, establishing a comprehensive, full-life-cycle health management system integrating:

• Multidisciplinary cancer therapy
• Dietary management
• Psychosomatic health care
• TCM syndrome differentiation therapy
• Rehabilitation physiotherapy
• Biological immune cell therapy
• Cultural therapy

The addition of these world-renowned experts will significantly bolster the center’s talent pool, contributing to "Healthy China" and global health initiatives, and propelling the Heavy Ion Center onto the international stage.