Department of Epidemiology

Chief: Professor Gao Yu-Tang
Vice Executive Chief: Professor Xiang Yong-Bing
Staffs: 33 (faculty members: 17, employees: 5, master students: 11)

The Department of Epidemiology was founded in 1978 based on the study group of cancer registration and cancer control, as one of the early departments to conduct research work on cancer epidemiology in China. The Shanghai Cancer Registry, a population-based cancer registry was in the Department to collect and analyze cancer data on incidence, mortality and survival during 1963 to 2001. The Shanghai Cancer Institute was designated as one of WHO collaborating centers for research on cancer in China in 1980. Professor Gao Yu-Tang of the Department is the present director of the center. International exchanges and collaborations between the Department and some distinguished research institutions and universities (such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC ) of WHO, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the University of South California (USC), the University of Minnesota, the University of South Carolina and the Vanderbilt University of United States) started since the early of 1980s. About 300-400 papers were published by our scientists and staffs on the journals in China and abroad during the past 2 decades. The Department was awarded ten prizes of the achievements on science and technology (first, second and third grades) from the Chinese Government, Chinese Ministry of Health and Shanghai Municipal Government. Thirteen Master students were graduated from the Department since 1986 and eleven students are studying in the Department.

The research activities of the Department covered almost all the fields of cancer epidemiology, e.g. descriptive epidemiological study (including cancer registration), cross-sectional survey, case-control study, cohort study (retrospective and prospective), cancer survival analysis, biostatistics and its application, cancer comprehensive prevention and control, and etc. Since the early of 1990s, the application of nutrients and biological markers tested in urine or/and serum was incorporated into the studies of the Department. During the past 20 years, a number of population-based case-control and cohort studies were conducted for some commonly seen cancers or cancers with rapidly increasing incidence rates (e.g. lung, stomach, esophagus, colon, rectum, pancreas, liver, breast, ovary, endometrium, NPC, urinary bladder, prostate, biliary tract, etc.). Two large-scale prospective cohorts in urban Shanghai were followed up to now which were founded in the end of 1980s and 1990s, respectively. There were about 18,000 study subjects in the first men’s cohort and 75,000 subjects in the second women’s cohort. Since 2001, the Department began to setup another large-scale men’s health cohort with about 75,000 study subjects in urban Shanghai. Our missions now and future are as follows: 1). to explore the cancer rates of incidence, mortality and survival and the role of environmental factors (e.g. dietary, nutrients, lifestyle, etc.) on the risk of commonly seen cancers in urban Shanghai, based on the conducted and on-going studies; 2). to focus on the molecular epidemiological studies of cancer by means of advanced techniques or methods of biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, molecular genetics and etc. For example, investigations on the relationship between foods, nutrients, gene polymorphism (e.g. CYP, GST, NAT, XRCC1, etc.) and the risk of cancer will be strengthened based on the previous studies in the near future. One of the main aims of the Department will focus on the research of the role of gene-environment interaction in cancer carcinogenesis. 3). to explore the model and way on cancer surveillance, follow-up and management in the community of Shanghai, according to the whole framework of the comprehensive cancer control of WHO.