Beijing hospital opens lung cancer treatment center

A private hospital in Beijing has begun to provide comprehensive medical treatment for lung cancer, which has become the number one disease leading to death in China.

The Beijing United Family Hospital opened a Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Center on Thursday, with support from an expert medical team at Capital Medical University's Lung Cancer Center — one of the country's most renowned lung cancer centers.

The center will be part of services operated by the hospital's New Hope Oncology Center, which was established in November 2011 and currently treats around 200 to 300 patients a day.

Patients with business medical insurance, foreigners and people with higher incomes make up the majority of all patients.

In addition to equipment of international standard, the new center will also employ nutritionists, rehabilitation nurses and psychologists.

"Such cooperation among several departments to serve one patient in one hospital is a fresh concept that would be difficult to achieve in public hospitals," said Roberta Lipson, chairwoman of the United Family Healthcare Group.

The latest data states that China had 3.09 million new cancer cases in 2010, and about 1.96 million deaths from cancer, according to Chen Wanqing, deputy director with the National Central Cancer Registry.

Lung, liver, stomach, esophageal and colorectal cancers are the top killers in China, with lung cancer killing 490,000 people annually.