The Department of Clinical Oncology aims to function as “one of the leading Comprehensive Cancer Centres in South East Asia and Southern China by applying innovative diagnostic techniques, delivery of state-of-the-art treatment, development of patients support services and clinical laboratory research, as well as teaching undergraduate and post-graduate students”. The fully integrated University Department and the Hospital Authority Department of Clinical Oncology, bringing together medical oncologists, haematological oncologists, radiation oncologists, and palliative medicine specialists, provide quality cancer care through a multi-disciplinary team approach ranging from cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, active treatment, to palliative and psychosocial care in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
The department primarily services patients with cancer in the New Territories East Cluster region, as well as accepting regional and international referrals in highly sub-specialized areas such as Intensity-modulated radiotherapy and novel therapeutics for solid cancers. Currently the Department sees around 4,000 new cases of cancer per year.
Multi-disciplinary clinics and meetings are hold on a weekly basis in close collaboration with other departments in a wide range of malignancies including head and neck cancers, breast cancer, gynaecological cancers, lung cancer, liver cancer, upper and lower gastrointestinal cancers, cancers of the central nervous system as well as paediatric cancers.
The basic laboratories in the Department focus on drug testing, molecular markers, virology, genetics and epigenetics, proteomics and immunology particularly in prevalent cancers in Hong Kong including liver cancer, nasopharynx cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer. The availability of a tumor tissue and serum bank with matching clinical data collected with a companion protocol provides a valuable resource for translational research.