Investigation confirms hospital malpractice in cancer treatment

BEIJING -- China's health and military authorities on Monday said an investigation confirmed wrongdoing by a military hospital in Beijing in the treatment of a young cancer patient.

The No.2 Hospital of CAPF Beijing Corps was found to have published incorrect information, posted misleading advertisements and to have violated regulations on working with the private sector, said a statement from the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC).

Wei Zexi, a 21-year-old college student who died last month of a rare form of cancer, had undergone a clinically unproven treatment at the hospital.

Before his death, Wei expressed anger at the hospital and China's leading search engine Baidu in an online post, accusing them of falsely claiming a high success rate for the treatment.

The investigation by the NHFPC, and logistic support departments of the Central Military Commission and the Chinese People's Armed Police Force (CAPF) began on May 3.

Wei was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, in 2014 and had been undergoing the treatment that the hospital claimed uses cells generated by his own immune system to counter the illness.

The treatment -- a joint project between the hospital and a private company, Shanghai Claison Bio-tech Co. Ltd -- cost Wei's family around 200,000 yuan (about 31,000 U.S. dollars) and was unsuccessful. He died on April 12.

The hospital has been asked to terminate all projects outsourced to medical service providers, including the Shanghai firm.

The investigation found Li Zhiliang, the physician in charge of Wei's treatment, was not a former hospital employee and his behavior violated protocol, though the investigators did not specify.

Doctor licenses of Li and some other hospital staff are believed to have been revoked. The investigators said some may be prosecuted.

The hospital must immediately terminate all advertising contracts with media outlets, and any misleading information will be removed from the public domain. It must also make improvements to its internal procedures, said the statement.

The military will overhaul advertising of their hospitals and actively cooperate with the health department in supervising them.