Nghe An Oncology Hospital: 15 years - a journey - Part 2: The journey to become the leading specialized hospital in the North Central region
Nghe An Oncology Hospital always focuses on developing professional capacity, constantly training human resources, investing in facilities, building the largest Radiation Therapy and Nuclear Medicine Center in the region. Becoming the only hospital in the North Central region with complete diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Diep Phuong• January 14, 2025
Nghe An Oncology Hospital always focuses on developing professional capacity, constantly training human resources, investing in facilities, building the largest Radiation Therapy and Nuclear Medicine Center in the region. Becoming the only hospital in the North Central region with complete diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are three treatment methods, considered as the "three-legged stool" that cannot be separated in the process of treating cancer. In the early years of its establishment, Nghe An Oncology Hospital only implemented two methods: surgery and chemotherapy. Cancer patients with radiotherapy regimens had only one option: to be transferred to a central hospital.
This is not only the difficulty of patients fighting this deadly disease, but also the concern of the entire medical team and hospital management board. In particular, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Trung at that time was always haunted by the dream of bringing the best medical care conditions to the people of his province.
Despite the lack of resources and limited funding, with tireless efforts, the hospital's leaders were determined to build a radiotherapy system.
“In 2013, the hospital called for investment from ODA projects from Belgium, Japan, Korea, and Hungary but was unsuccessful. After that, the Nghe An National Assembly Delegation proposed and the Government agreed to use the Provincial support fund to build a 250-bed Radiation Therapy and Nuclear Medicine Center, but there was no medical equipment. Therefore, the hospital continued to call for socialized medical resources and installed two radiation therapy systems and a modern, synchronized CT simulation machine,” said Ms. Phan Thi Anh Yen, Chief Accountant of the hospital.
By March 2019, the Center for Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine officially came into operation, making Nghe An Oncology Hospital the first and only hospital in the North Central region to have a complete multi-modal treatment regimen, with a closed process from diagnosis to cancer treatment (including: internal medicine oncology, surgery oncology, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, palliative care, interventional radiology for cancer diagnosis and treatment). Since then, thousands of cancer patients in the region have been treated near home and when they learned that their hometown had a Radiotherapy Center, many patients who were being treated at central hospitals asked to return.
MSc. Dr. Nguyen Hai Hoang - Head of General Radiation Department, Nghe An Oncology Hospital said that every day the Center can provide radiation therapy for several hundred patients thanks to two modern radiation therapy systems, Synergy platform and Precise; meeting all treatment needs related to radiation therapy for all cancer diseases.
Up to now, the Center has routinely performed external radiotherapy techniques according to tumor shape (3D-CRT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) applied to all types of cancer with radiotherapy indications such as: radical radiotherapy alone for patients with early-stage cancer; combined with radical radiotherapy and chemotherapy in locally advanced stages; adjuvant radiotherapy after chemotherapy; preoperative radiotherapy; symptomatic radiotherapy (pain relief, compression relief, bleeding relief) in patients with late-stage cancer.
In addition to radiotherapy, the hospital also develops the field of nuclear medicine with many great advances. In addition to applying nuclear medicine in the treatment of thyroid cancer, Basedow; the hospital continues to develop many advanced techniques such as: pain relief treatment due to bone metastasis with 32P; whole body scintigraphy.
Especially the SPECT and SPECT/CT imaging systems. Through SPECT imaging, doctors can detect and accurately assess the patient's recurrent and metastatic lesions. When combined with CT, it allows for early detection of cancer more effectively than conventional imaging diagnostic methods.
According to Master, Doctor Nguyen Viet Binh - Deputy Director of Nghe An Oncology Hospital, up to now, the hospital has successfully deployed 371/401 specialized Oncology techniques, reaching a rate of 92.5%. Among them, there are many advanced and modern techniques that bring efficiency in diagnosis and treatment for patients.
Identifying surgery as the first method in cancer treatment, from the very first days of its establishment, the hospital has focused on implementing many advanced techniques in cancer treatment, the spearhead of which is endoscopic surgery. Nghe An Oncology Hospital has successfully implemented many difficult techniques that can only be performed at the central level such as: endoscopic surgery to remove pancreatic and duodenal masses, lung tumors, liver tumors, digestive tract tumors (esophageal, stomach, colorectal tumors, etc.), endometrial cancer, cervical cancer; prostate vaporization technique using laser technology; axillary lymph node exploration surgery using Gamma Probe in the treatment of breast cancer...
“The hospital’s chemotherapy regimen is regularly and continuously updated according to prestigious domestic and international regimens. In internal medicine, the hospital has performed many difficult procedures such as: inpatient intravenous chemotherapy; central venous chemotherapy. In addition, the hospital also applies achievements of molecular biotechnology in targeted therapy, immunotherapy and successfully implemented 14 stem cell transplants to treat hematopoietic cancers - the only provincial hospital to successfully perform this technique” - Master, Doctor Nguyen Viet Binh revealed.
Since 2015, the hospital has successfully applied gene sequencing technology to perform valuable techniques in cancer diagnosis and treatment. The hospital has routinely deployed techniques such as: cytological smear staining, fine needle aspiration cytology, instantaneous cryosectioning, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, etc.
In addition, Nghe An Oncology Hospital also focuses on developing advanced techniques and intervention techniques such as: Burning liver tumors and lung tumors with high frequency waves; biopsy of tumors with Maxio Robot; transrectal prostate biopsy under ultrasound guidance, liver tumor and thyroid tumor burning technique with high frequency waves (RFA), breast biopsy with vacuum pressure suction, endoscopic ultrasound of the digestive tract...
Understanding medical equipment is an indispensable condition for implementing high-tech services, especially specialized techniques. Nghe An Oncology Hospital has focused on investing in modern and synchronous medical equipment to meet the medical examination and treatment needs of the people. At the same time, sending staff to participate in training at leading medical units at home and abroad to keep up with trends and operate the best new equipment.
Thanks to that, many specialized techniques that were previously only performed at central hospitals have now been successfully deployed and applied in the province. Typical high-tech medical equipment currently available at the hospital include: 02 dose-modulated accelerator radiotherapy systems, 1.5Tesla magnetic resonance imaging; simulated computed tomography; Mamography with 3D system; endoscopic ultrasound for early cancer diagnosis; tissue elastography machine; quantitative liver ultrasound machine; digital x-ray; fully automatic biochemical and immunological testing; gene sequencing system; cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring systems such as 64 - 128-row CT-Scanner, SPECT, SPECT/CT; ...
In 2021, the Nghe An Oncology Hospital Construction Project (Phase 2) was approved to be built next to the Center for Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine; with a total investment of 1,259 billion VND. The construction floor area is 75,000 m2 with the main building having 1,000 international standard beds. This is a key project, which has received attention from the Provincial Party Committee, Provincial People's Committee and all levels due to its urgency and practical effectiveness for people in the province and the North Central region.
The new hospital aims to provide high-quality health care services and meet the needs of cancer examination and treatment for the people of the province as well as neighboring provinces; it is expected to be handed over and put into use early this year.
Currently, the hospital is carrying out the bidding and purchasing process for the Cyclotron radioactive isotope production system and PET/CT system, along with a positive pressure gas system that meets GMP standards. These are equipment that only 2 hospitals nationwide own (Hospital 108 and Cho Ray Hospital). Putting this technology into use will help people access advanced techniques right in the province, helping to save costs, time and improve treatment efficiency.
With a complete infrastructure system, full and modern equipment; a team of qualified and experienced staff, Nghe An Oncology Hospital has become a trusted address chosen by medical and pharmaceutical training institutions to send students and trainees to study and practice. The hospital is a practical training facility for many schools such as: Hanoi Medical University, Hai Phong Medical University, Vinh Medical University, Vinh University. Every year, the hospital receives nearly 1,000 students and trainees for clinical practice.
In recent times, the Hospital has organized many scientific seminars with the participation of leading experts. Scientific research and international cooperation activities have also been promoted at the Hospital with more than 378 topics, projects, and initiatives at the grassroots level; 30 provincial initiatives; 05 provincial topics; 21 provincial science and technology innovation awards.
The hospital is gradually implementing 15 multinational, multi-center clinical trials on breast cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, biliary tract cancer, liver cancer, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; and is one of eight hospitals nationwide implementing a research project jointly conducted by the World Ovarian Cancer Consortium (WOCC) and the International Gynecological Oncology Society (IGCS).
In addition, staff members are always actively learning and sharing experiences through participating in scientific conferences and training programs abroad such as: European Medical Oncology Conference, Annual Conference of the American Cancer Society, Asia Pacific Cancer Conference, International Hospital Pharmacists Conference, Asean Oncosphere Conference on hematological oncology and many other international conference programs.
“Nghe An Oncology Hospital is the first hospital in Nghe An province to be granted the code of the Ethics Council for basic biomedical research; and is the only hospital in the whole province to be granted GCP (Good Clinical Practice) certification by the Department of Science, Technology and Training - Ministry of Health. At the same time, it is also the first specialized Oncology hospital nationwide to successfully implement electronic medical records.”
MSc. Dr. Nguyen Viet Binh - Deputy Director of Nghe An Oncology Hospital
