Established in the 1970’s Department of Hematology of Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Second Medical University is one of the top disciplines of the specialty of hematology at home. It is a the key construction discipline of 211 Engineering of State Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, a key discipline of the key disciplines of Shanghai Municipality, a key discipline of Shanghai Education Commission, a medical leading discipline of Shanghai Municipality, a medical key discipline of Bureau of Health of Shanghai Municipality, Clinical Pharmacology Base of Ministry of Public Health and Key Laboratory of Human Genomics Research of Ministry of Public Health and Shanghai Municipality.

Through our country’s major investment construction for over ten years this Discipline has become a discipline with distinctive features with relatively complete disciplinary categories and closely combined clinical medical treatment and basic research. In 2004 Shanghai Blood Clinical Center was approved for establishment. Under this Discipline are Department of Hematology of Ruijin Hospital, Department of Hematology of Luwan Branch of Ruijin Hospital, Hematology Ward and Section of Bone Marrow Transplantation of Specially Required Therapeutic Center Research, Section of Molecular Biology, Clinical Research Section, Research Section of Cellular Biology, Research Section of Thrombus and Hemostasis and Research Section of Cytomorphology etc..

The Discipline has made a series of attractive achievements in respect of clinical and basic research of hematopathy. It is close to the internationally advanced level in respect of diagnoses and treatment of leukemia, thrombus and hemorrhagic diseases and is in the lead at home. Its distinctive features include: diagnoses of cytogenetics and molecular biology and treatment of all kinds of leukemia and malignant diseases of hemorrhagic system, chemotherapy and specific differentiation and induction and apoptosis therapy of leukemia, hemopoietic stem cell transplantation and molecular diagnoses (including prenatal diagnosis) and treatment (including operative orthopedic therapy) of hemophilia and pseudohemophilia etc..

At present the Department has in total 110 sickbeds and 2 beds for transplantation of bone marrow, has a staff of 131 persons all in all with characteristics of youthization (middle-agers and youth under 45 years of age making up 72%) and high educational backgrounds (educational backgrounds of Ph.D and masters making up 46%). 20 persons have senior academic titles, 38 persons intermediate academic titles and 53 persons junior academic titles.

Professional distinctive features
Therapy of differentiation and induction of acute leukemia: The traditional therapy for acute leukemia is mainly chemotherapy. The success of treatment of promyelocytic leukemia with ATRA and As2O3 has proved the strategy of differentiation and apoptosis of leukemia cells by specific induction to be feasible. ATRA is the first drug for induction and differentiation used in treatment of leukemia. Since 1988 Department of Hematology of Shanghai Ruijin Hospital has taken the lead internationally in using ATRA in treatment of promyelocytic leukemia, obtaining over 90% of complete lysis rate. The clinical research of large specimens subsequently carried out further tested and verified its effectiveness, set an example for treatment of induction and differentiation of leukemia and tumors and became the internationally standard therapeutic means of APL therapy. According to the clinical practice of Harbin Medical College, Department of Hematology of Ruijin Hospital adopted As2O3 therapy for promyelocytic leukemia and carried out a series of research and was the first internationally to confirm that application of As2O3 could specifically induce apoptosis of APL cells, making a breaththrough in leukemia difficult to treat after a relapse and CR rate reaching 80%～90% so that part of the victims could survive long. In order to eradicate leukemia and overcome the relapse of the disease Ruijin Hospital took the lead in carrying out the combined application of ATRA and As2O3. As a result the cases obtained 93.5% of the complete link and with 30 months’ follow-ups not a single case had a relapse, making it possible for promyelocytic leukemia to become a disease under control. This research fruit was lectured on at the conference of 2003 U.S. Hematology Annual Convention and a press conference was held for it. Prof. Wang Zhengyi of Ruijin Hospital won a Ham-Wasserman Great Prize for his excellent achievements in the field of treatment of leukemia by induction, differentiation and apoptosis.