China's Top Departments: Radiation Oncology at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (Guangzhou)

For readers in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and worldwide: if you or a loved one needs radiotherapy — for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), lung cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, gynecologic cancers, rectal cancer or lymphoma — the Department of Radiation Oncology at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYSUCC) in Guangzhou is the largest radiotherapy center in Asia and one of the most experienced precision-radiotherapy teams on earth.

About the Hospital

Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (SYSUCC) was founded in March 1964. Also known as the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University and the SYSU Cancer Institute, it is one of the largest and most academically accomplished comprehensive cancer centers in China, and one of the four earliest-established cancer hospitals in the country. In the Fudan Institute of Hospital Management's 2023 China Hospital Rankings, the Center is rated A+++ overall and ranks No. 2 nationwide in the Oncology specialty ranking; it has repeatedly received the highest grade (A) for specialized cancer hospitals in China's national tertiary public hospital performance assessment.

• Grade: Tertiary (Class A) specialized hospital for oncology; Fudan 2023 overall rating A+++
• Academic platforms: National Key Discipline (Oncology); State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; National Clinical Research Center for New Drugs (Anticancer Drugs); one of Guangdong Province's first pilot hospitals for international medical services
• Scale: Two campuses in operation (Yuexiu and Huangpu; Tianhe campus under construction), with 2,245 beds; 2.558 million outpatient/emergency visits and 222,000 inpatient admissions per year — among the highest volumes of any specialized cancer hospital in China
• Expertise: 3 Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 3 Members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 47 national-level talents; 231 doctoral supervisors and 334 master's supervisors
• International services: The SYSUCC International Medical Center opened in July 2026; the Center is a sister institution of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (ranked No. 1 in the U.S. for oncology) and collaborates with the Karolinska Institute (Sweden), the University of Warwick (UK), the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and Erasmus MC (the Netherlands). It has been a WHO Collaborating Centre for Cancer Research since 1980
• International academic standing: Ranked No. 1 in China for oncology in the 2023 China Hospital STEM rankings; ranked 5th among cancer centers worldwide in the 2024 Nature Index. It publishes the English-language journal Cancer Communications (impact factor 24.9, JCR Oncology Q1)

About the Department

The Department of Radiation Oncology traces its origins to the 1950s, when radiotherapy was first practiced at the affiliated hospital of Sun Yat-sen Medical College under Professor Xie Zhiguang, the hospital's founding president; the Department of Radiation Oncology was formally established in 1964. It is currently the largest radiotherapy center in Asia by scale and by number of cancer patients treated annually, and was approved in 2021 as a National Key Clinical Specialty (Radiation Therapy).

The department has 3 radiotherapy wards plus 1 outpatient treatment ward at the Yuexiu Campus and 2 radiotherapy wards plus 1 outpatient treatment ward at the Huangpu Campus, with a total of 276 inpatient beds. It is organized into four divisions: Radiation Oncology, Radiation Physics, Radiation Treatment Technology and Radiation Nursing.

• Equipment: 15 linear accelerators (including 1 MRI-guided linear accelerator and 1 TOMO helical tomotherapy unit), 2 brachytherapy units, 3 CT simulators and 1 MR simulator; in addition, 70 treatment planning systems
• Team size: 354 faculty and staff in total, including 80 radiation oncologists, 44 medical physicists/dosimetrists/engineers, 107 radiation therapists and 102 nurses
• Volume: More than 12,000 patients receive radiotherapy each year; more than 4,000 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients are diagnosed and treated annually
• Technical focus: More than 95% of treatments are delivered as precision radiotherapy, including MRI-guided radiotherapy, SBRT, IGRT, IMRT, VMAT, TOMO and three-dimensional brachytherapy

Academic Standing and Accreditations

• National Key Clinical Specialty: Approved in 2021 as a National Key Clinical Specialty (Radiation Therapy)
• Largest in Asia: Described by the official website as "the largest radiotherapy center in Asia and the one treating the most cancer patients each year", and by the English website as "a leading radiation center in Asia"
• International leadership in NPC: SYSUCC is an internationally leading unit for NPC clinical practice and research, with comprehensive NPC treatment at a world-leading level
• International platforms: Supported by the National Key Discipline (Oncology), the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China and the National Clinical Research Center for New Drugs (Anticancer Drugs); joined the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) in 2012
• Guideline influence: Over the past five years, more than 92 frontline clinical research findings from the center have been adopted by global cancer treatment standards and guidelines
• Pioneering technologies: The center independently developed low-melting-point lead block technology and conformal irradiation technology, widely adopted in radiotherapy
• National firsts: The department was among the first in China to perform MRI-guided adaptive stereotactic radiotherapy (for example, kidney-sparing treatment of renal cancer)

Core Technologies and Signature Treatments

1. Precision radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (the department's flagship, world-leading) — The team led by Academician Ma Jun, Professor Sun Ying and Professor Tang Linglong published the world's first clinical-trial research article in CA (CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, February 20, 2025; impact factor 503.1). This multicenter phase III randomized controlled trial enrolled 445 patients with locally advanced NPC and showed that irradiating only the post-induction-chemotherapy tumor volume (reduced-volume radiotherapy) did not increase recurrence (3-year locoregional relapse-free survival 91.5%) while significantly reducing toxicity: severe radiation-induced oral mucositis fell by about 40%, late severe otitis media by about 50%, and xerostomia (dry mouth) by about 60%. The team of Sun Ying and Zhou Guanqun also released an AI radiotherapy advance that produces an NPC treatment plan in 3.5 minutes; Ma Jun's team contributed to 5 of the 9 revisions to the international staging standard, and the adoption of IMRT and MRI helped raise NPC survival from 45% in the 1980s to around 86%
2. Stereotactic radiotherapy (SBRT/SABR) and MRI-guided adaptive radiotherapy — The department was among the first in China to perform MRI-guided adaptive stereotactic radiotherapy for renal cancer, combining diagnostic-grade high-field MRI with advanced linear accelerators to optimize treatment online in real time — achieving both kidney preservation and tumor control, supported by its 1 MRI-guided linear accelerator
3. Precision radiotherapy technology portfolio (more than 95% of treatments) — Covers IMRT, VMAT, IGRT, TOMO, three-dimensional brachytherapy and MRI-guided radiotherapy; more than 95% of treatments are precision radiotherapy
4. Head-and-neck cancers beyond NPC — Precision radiotherapy for cancers of the oropharynx, oral cavity, hypopharynx, larynx, nasal cavity and sinuses, salivary glands and thyroid, among others
5. Lung and esophageal cancer radiotherapy (thoracic tumors) — The team led by Professor Chen Ming (Grade-II Professor and Chief Expert in Lung Cancer) has long focused on modern radiotherapy and combined treatment for lung cancer, with related work receiving a Science and Technology Progress Award from the Ministry of Education
6. Breast, gynecologic, rectal and lymphoma radiotherapy — The department treats breast cancer, gynecologic cancers, rectal cancer and lymphoma, among others
7. Brachytherapy and hyperthermia — A dedicated brachytherapy division equipped with 2 brachytherapy units, performing three-dimensional brachytherapy

Expert Team

• Prof. Ma Jun: Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (elected 2023, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine); Executive Deputy Director of SYSUCC and Executive Vice President of the Hospital; Professor, Chief Physician and doctoral supervisor; Chief Expert in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, specializing in "enhancing efficacy and reducing toxicity in NPC treatment". Convener of the Special Medical Discipline Review Group of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee, President-elect of the International NPC Gordon Conference, core member of the American AJCC NPC Clinical Staging Committee, member of the ASCO Scientific Review Committee, and first Chair of the CSCO NPC Committee. As first author/lead, he has received 3 National Science and Technology Progress Awards (Second Class) (2009, 2015, 2023) and 3 First Prizes of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award, as well as the Ho Leung Ho Lee Medical and Pharmaceutical Progress Award, the Wu Jieping Medical Innovation Award and the Tan Jiazhen Clinical Medicine Award. In February 2025 his team published the world's first clinical-trial paper in CA
• Prof. Sun Ying: Deputy Director of SYSUCC and Vice President of the Hospital; Party Branch Secretary and Deputy Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology; Professor, Chief Physician and doctoral supervisor; Chief Expert in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; Changjiang Scholars Distinguished Professor, specializing in the diagnosis, radiotherapy and combined treatment of head-and-neck tumors, especially NPC. Vice Chair of the NPC Committee of the China Anti-Cancer Association and of the CSCO NPC Committee; National May 1st Labor Medal recipient (2026)
• Prof. Tang Linglong: Deputy Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology; Professor, Chief Physician and doctoral supervisor; Changjiang Scholars Distinguished Professor; first author and co-corresponding author of the world's first clinical-trial paper in CA
• Prof. Chen Ming: Grade-II Professor and Chief Expert in Lung Cancer; long engaged in modern radiotherapy and combined treatment research for lung cancer
• Prof. Liu Mengzhong: Director-Mentor of the Department of Radiation Oncology; Grade-II Professor, Chief Physician and doctoral supervisor; Senior Chief Expert in Esophageal Cancer
• Prof. Mai Haiqiang: Assistant to the President and Director of the Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; Professor, Chief Physician and doctoral supervisor; Chief Expert in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
• Prof. Han Fei: Deputy Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology; Chief Physician
• Dr. He Liru (Chief Physician): Expert in the Department of Radiation Oncology; among the first in China to perform MRI-guided adaptive stereotactic radiotherapy for renal cancer
• Department team: 354 faculty and staff, including 80 radiation oncologists, 44 medical physicists/dosimetrists/engineers, 107 radiation therapists and 102 nurses, organized into four divisions

Conditions Treated (reference for international patients)

• Nasopharyngeal carcinoma — precision radiotherapy and combined treatment at all stages, including reduced-volume precision radiotherapy and combined treatment for recurrent NPC
• Head-and-neck tumors — oropharynx, oral cavity, hypopharynx, larynx, nasal cavity and sinuses, salivary glands, thyroid and others
• Thoracic tumors such as lung and esophageal cancer — stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and combined radiotherapy
• Breast cancer, gynecologic cancers, rectal cancer and lymphoma — radiotherapy for these and other tumors
• Early-stage renal cancer and other organ-sparing needs — MRI-guided adaptive stereotactic radiotherapy preserving kidney function while eradicating the tumor
• Various malignancies requiring IMRT / VMAT / IGRT / TOMO / three-dimensional brachytherapy / MRI-guided radiotherapy

Address and Contact

• Yuexiu Campus (main): No. 651 Dongfeng East Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China — easily reached from Hong Kong West Kowloon by high-speed rail
• Huangpu Campus: No. 1 Kaiyang 5th Road, Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, Huangpu District, Guangzhou
• Website: www.sysucc.org.cn (English: english.sysucc.org.cn); email: [email protected]
• International services: SYSUCC International Medical Center (opened July 2026), offering one-stop services for international patients

For more on SYSUCC, see the SYSUCC nasopharyngeal carcinoma department and SYSUCC medical oncology.

This information is compiled from the official website of Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and public reports. It is for reference only; the hospital's latest official information shall prevail.