The history of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Korea Cancer Center Hospital began in April 1964 when Dr. Gi Bok Park took office as the first director at the Research Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences. Since then, it has expanded and developed by recruiting top-tier medical personnel in Korea.
The Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics has produced a particularly large number of accomplishments in the treatment of cervical cancer. Having installed Cobalt-60 remote therapeutic apparatus and opened a new era of cervical cancer treatment in 1969, it introduced the pap smear system for the first time in Korea and started a nationwide women’s cancer examination project in 1970.
The department introduced the CyberKnife system in June 2002 for the first time in Korea and treated over 1,000 patients in just three years. In March 2003, it operated PET-CT for the first time in Korea and started using it in women’s cancer diagnosis and treatment. The department is contributing considerably to public medical service by continuously implementing the free women’s cancer examination project.
Although many large hospitals are being established and specialized cancer centers are in operation, the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Korea Cancer Center Hospital is still recognized as a medical institution specializing in the treatment of women’s cancer. Top-tier women’s cancer specialists in Korea are carrying out medical care and research activities in order to provide fast, accurate diagnosis as well as the best healthcare services.
In line with the medical development, effort for developing treatment methods that produce superior effects with lower adverse reactions is being continued. The treatment methods developed based on such effort are applied to patients through clinical trials. As such, the clinical trial participation and activity level of a hospital can be said to represent its cancer treatment capacity.
Currently, the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Korea Cancer Center Hospital provides patients with opportunities to receive the latest treatment by actively conducting clinical trials in Korea and abroad.
An example is the KGOG 1008/GOG 263 clinical trial. This project was developed and proposed and is being internationally implemented by the Korea Cancer Center Hospital.
Dr. Sang Young Ryu was selected as the principal investigator, a first in Asia, and he is implementing the clinical trial. Another research project is GCIG/KGOG 1027. It was proposed to the Gynecological Cancer InterGroup (GCIG) and is also being implemented as an international clinical trial.
In terms of the scale of clinical trial, the number of patients involved is similar to or even larger than that of other large hospitals. Considering the scale of the Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, this is indeed an outstanding feat.