Women's breast cancer is one of the highest incidence cancers worldwide, and effective treatment and management is recognized as a big challenge in modern medicine. With 2,878 deaths from women's breast cancer in 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that this number will increase to 13.1 million by 2030. In response, SM Christianity Hospital in Pohang, South Korea, invited Dr. Namsun Paik, MD, Ph.D., a world-class breast cancer specialist, to become the director of the cancer hospital in 2021 to build a cancer diagnosis and treatment system using state-of-the-art medical technology and artificial intelligence (AI).
Dr. Namsun Paik was the first surgeon in Asia to develop breast conservation surgery in 1986, successfully performing "simultaneous reconstruction" to increase the survival rate of breast cancer patients while maintaining female beauty. Emphasizing that the breast is a symbol of womanhood, beauty and motherhood, Dr. Paik was recognized for his medical achievements by considering not only the survival of cancer patients but also the mental treatment and outward beauty of women. His recognition is widely known at home and abroad, and his efforts made him one of the top 100 breast cancer surgeons in the world in 2006, by IBA in London.
Dr. Paik, who served as director of the Ewha Womans University Women's Cancer Hospital for 11 years until September 2021, was appointed director of the Breast and Thyroid Cancer Hospital at SM Christianity Hospital Cancer Center. Over the next two years, 304 breast and thyroid cancer surgeries were successfully performed, significantly improving the level of cancer treatment despite being a provincial city. He introduced state-of-the-art medical equipment, demonstrating that cancer surgery was possible with the latest technology in Pohang. He minimized the time and cost for patients and their families to travel to university hospitals in Seoul for treatment.
Regarding his motivation for being appointed as the director of the Cancer Center Hospital at SM Christianity Hospital, Dr. Paik said, "I thought that we need a medical infrastructure that can provide high-quality cancer treatment even in provinces with high cancer incidence" and "I decided that Pohang is a city of technological innovation and suitable for global medical activities. In particular, Dr. Paik is planning new medical innovations using AI. As Pohang is a region with abundant technological innovation resources that represents Korea, he announced his plan to contribute to the introduction and treatment of advanced medical technologies by applying AI to the medical field through joint research with Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), one of the world's top universities.
The following is a Q&A with Dr. Namsun Paik, Director of the Cancer Center at SM Christianity Hospital.
Q: It's been two years since you moved to be the hospital director of SM Christianity Hospital Cancer Center Hospital. What was your motivation?
I have been a clinician for 50 years, starting with my admission to Seoul National University College of Medicine, and have served as director of Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Konkuk University Hospital, and Ewha Womans University Women's Cancer Hospital, respectively, where I have been involved in education, research, and treatment of students and trainees, as well as consistently giving keynote lectures at world conferences. I also consistently attracted about 1,000 foreign patients per year. Pohang is home to POSCO, a cornerstone of the Korean economy, and the world-class POSTECH, making it an ideal location for global medical activities.
Q: What strategies and plans were behind the improvement of breast cancer patients' performance after two years of appointment?
As a doctor, I think the most important thing is to provide patients with kind and reliable, confidential treatment. Psychological healing of patients through patient-centered values is the role and duty of doctors. This approach is the key to the patient's quick recovery and the hospital's reputation. Therefore, SM Christianity Hospital has established a medical team with patient-centered values for specialized treatment of breast cancer and thyroid cancer and introduced state-of-the-art medical equipment.
In addition, the multidisciplinary treatment system, which is the latest treatment for treating patients' conditions in various fields for diagnosed cancer, has been established, and a rapid diagnostic test system has been introduced to minimize the waiting time for cancer patients. In other words, surgeries and procedures are performed within one week of diagnosis on the same day to provide one-stop medical services, which reduces anxiety and improves the treatment effectiveness of cancer patients, so it is highly responsive to the reliability felt by residents.
In particular, it implements "concurrent reconstruction after cancer surgery," which takes into account both the survival rate of patients and the beauty of women on the outside. My innovative strategy has been visited by patients not only from Pohang, but also from all over the country, including Seoul, Daegu, Busan, Daejeon and Gwangju, and even from overseas such as the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. As Pohang is a famous tourist destination, cooperation with local governments can enhance its national prestige through a smokeless (no-need chimney) medical business. That's half the battle.
Q: The SM Christianity Hospital Breast and Thyroid Cancer Center is known for providing one-stop healthcare by performing surgeries and procedures within a week of diagnosis. How has this approach impacted patient experience and outcomes?
Cancer patients have no choice but to feel urgent. The same is true now and when I worked at different university hospitals in Seoul. In all cancer hospitals, it usually takes days to weeks to get an appointment with a specialist for a test, and it usually takes days to months to get an appointment for surgery or a procedure.
The condition for me to open a new breast and thyroid cancer center here at SM Christianity Hospital was to solve this important problem. The CEO of this hospital agreed with me that if Pohang opens a new way for breast cancer treatment, it will expand to patients in Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gyeongju, Ulsan and Changwon.
Patients who had to go to university hospitals in Seoul ended up at SM Christianity Hospital because of the reinforcement of radiology specialists, radiation oncologists and pathologists, advanced equipment in the operating rooms, and the latest equipment for postoperative radiation therapy. These one-stop medical services have the advantage of reducing patients' anxiety, improving treatment effects, and reducing medical costs.
Q: This year is the year that AI will become commonplace in our lives. Medical diagnosis based on artificial intelligence has become a revolutionary pioneer in medicine. As a breast cancer surgeon, what are the application areas of AI for the advancement of breast cancer, diagnosis and treatment?
AI is applied in almost all fields, but it is expected to play a big role in cancer diagnosis and treatment, especially with MML(Man-Machine Language), LLM(Large Language Model) and ChatGPT 4.0. Even for image reading, pathological tissue reading, and various statistics, especially for thesis writing, of course, the use of AI saves a lot of time. Recently, the breast cancer team has been researching to develop breast cancer diagnostic equipment using optical ultrasound (photoacoustic image) through collaboration with POSTECH. This equipment is expected to provide more accurate diagnosis while reducing radiation damage. In addition, we intend to use AI to create a system that can collect and analyze various data, such as patients' genes, biosignals, images, and pathologies, and suggest optimal treatment plans.
Q: Has the recent introduction of advanced technologies such as TrueBeam and Navigator to improve treatment accuracy contributed to better patient care in breast cancer treatment?
TrueBeam and Navigator are state-of-the-art radiotherapy machines that have the advantage of using simulators to determine an accurate radiation field, minimizing the amount of radiation and reducing the time. These technologies provide fewer side effects and higher therapeutic effects for breast cancer patients. By introducing these technologies at SM Christianity Hospital Cancer Center Hospital, I am increasing the satisfaction and survival rate of patients from all over the country as well as those from overseas.
Q: It is understood that the plan is to make SM Christianity Hospital Cancer Center Glocal ("global + local") hospital. How do you plan to attract foreign patients for international medical plans and cancer treatment?
As a cancer surgeon, I would like to be proud of personally attracting and treating the largest number of foreign patients in Korea. To do this, I had to learn foreign languages, not only English, but also Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, and Mongolian, and I have experienced much of the happiness that patients feel and the satisfaction that I feel as a doctor. I am proud to work with some doctors and nurses at SM Christianity Hospital Cancer Center Hospital to become a global medical institution for cancer treatment that extends to the world.
Q: What do you think is the reason why many foreign patients come here?
This is because Korean breast cancer treatment technology is excellent. Koreans' natural medical talent and technical skills are known as factors that enhance patient-centered values. When foreign patients visit the hospital, a special coordinator who speaks their native language is assigned to make them feel comfortable. In addition, the surrounding tourist areas of Geong-Ju, Busan so on contribute to the healing of overseas patients. In addition, the excellent medical staff, state-of-the-art equipment and facilities of SM Christianity Hospital Cancer Center Hospital can provide the best medical care for foreign patients. This is strength of K-Medical.
Q: The cooperation with POSTECH in the development of optical ultrasound (photoacoustic) diagnostic equipment is very interesting. How do you think this collaboration will contribute to the development of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment?
Optical ultrasound is a technology that uses a light and sound combination to diagnose breast cancer without the use of radiation. This technology is helpful in the early detection of breast cancer and the accurate localization of lesions. In collaboration with POSTECH, I am conducting research to improve this technology and develop diagnostic equipment that can be used clinically. This equipment will provide a safer and more accurate diagnosis for breast cancer patients and will be more beneficial to their health because they will not be exposed to radiation.
