Hosted by the Islands Healthcare Complex – Macao Medical Center of Peking Union Medical College Hospital (hereinafter referred to as “Macao Union Medical Center”), the two-day “2^nd Academic Week of the Macao Union Medical Center” successfully concluded on 28 September.

The “2^nd Academic Week of the Macao Union Medical Center” was organized by the Macao Union Medical Center, co-organized by the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the Chinese Medical Association, and the Chinese Association of Pancreatology, and supported by the Macao Oncology Association. It invited Director Yu Xianjun of the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Director Liu Bin of the First Hospital of Jilin University to deliver keynote speeches on “High-Quality Development of Public Hospitals.” In addition, the event covered a wide range of medical fields, including pancreatic diseases, rare diseases, the integration of laboratory medicine and pharmacy, digestive and gynecological oncology, international medical services and the big health industry, cells and immunity, comprehensive medicine, and cutting-edge imaging technologies and future prospects. By means of keynote speeches, case sharing, panel discussions, and other formats, a total of 10 thematic forums were held, with the participation of renowned hospital directors, distinguished scholars, and representatives of leading medical institutions from both China and abroad.

President of the Chinese Association of Pancreatology, Zhao Yupei, fully recognized the work of the Macao Union Medical Center over the past year and stated that its steady development has laid a solid foundation for high-level academic exchanges. He pointed out that academic exchanges are the stepping stones of medical progress and the core driving force for fostering innovation and improving the quality of diagnosis and treatment. This Academic Week aims to build a top-tier platform for exchange and cooperation among the medical community in the Chinese mainland, Macao, and even the world. As one of the most formidable challenges in contemporary medicine, pancreatic diseases are difficult to diagnose and treat. With poor prognoses, they have long been a major focus and challenge for the medical community. For this reason, Zhao participated in the forum on multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic diseases and delivered a speech. Together with the attending experts and scholars, he engaged in profound discussions on state-of-the-art topics such as early diagnosis, precise treatment, and multidisciplinary collaboration in pancreatic diseases and introduced the latest research findings and clinical experiences, promoting the advancement of standards of pancreatic disease prevention and treatment in Macao.

In the keynote speeches regarding “High-Quality Development of Public Hospitals,” Directors Yu Xianjun and Liu Bin respectively shared the development experiences of their hospitals. They presented hospital development from multiple perspectives, including clinical services, medical specialty development, development planning blueprints, mission positioning, performance indicator assessment system for tertiary public hospitals in China, cultural development, and talent cultivation.

In the field of rare diseases, President Zhang Shuyang of the Peking Union Medical College Hospital used rare heart diseases as an entry point to explore the important trend of how systematic research on common cardiovascular diseases in modern medicine is moving toward precise, mechanism-driven, and systematic development approaches. These approaches aim to fundamentally improve understanding and the capacity for prevention and treatment of heart diseases. She also delved into topics such as artificial intelligence, drug therapies, and diagnostic and treatment methods with other experts.

In the field of oncology, numerous renowned scholars from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao discussed precision diagnostics and rational drug use for tumors, new trends in pathology, and the latest diagnosis and treatment approaches for various types of cancer. Their insights provided the Macao Union Medical Center with inspiring guidance and fresh medical perspectives in the relevant fields. At the nursing forum, the focus was on achieving quality enhancement and empowerment and integrated innovation to advance high-quality development in the nursing profession. Several experts discussed new concepts and methods for nurses in topics such as human resources, talent cultivation, empowerment and integration, quality control systems, and management models. At the forum on international medical services and the big health industry, a number of experts talked about their practical experiences in health management, covering osteoporosis prevention and treatment, child healthcare and physical examinations, AI-assisted qualitative diagnosis of pulmonary nodules, and health risk control. At the cells and immunity forum, scholars elaborated on the latest technological developments, such as cellular immunotherapy and genes and immunity. At the comprehensive medicine forum, scholars shared experiences and insights on hot topics, including single-port robotic surgery for urologic tumors, diagnosis and treatment of adnexal masses during pregnancy, antiviral treatment and immune reconstitution studies for AIDS, and screening and intervention for geriatric sarcopenia. At the imaging technology forum, the application of artificial intelligence in medicine attracted significant attention. Several scholars provided valuable insights and knowledge through frontier reports on AI-assisted treatment planning for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, transformation of radiology practices, application of photon-counting CT in early-stage lung cancer, the use of PET/CT imaging in investigating fever of unknown origin, and new ultrasound technologies.

This Academic Week attracted nearly 2,000 participants from Macao, including physicians, dentists, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, pharmacists, traditional Chinese medicine pharmacists, pharmacy technical assistants, nurses, medical laboratory technicians, radiographers, nutritionists, and other trainees.