Department of Oral Pathology

Department Overview

The Department of Oral Pathology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, is a core and pivotal clinical support department of the hospital, and a flagship hub for clinical diagnosis, education and scientific research in oral and maxillofacial pathology across South China. It provides core pathological diagnostic services and technical support for all clinical departments of the hospital, and also offers professional pathological consultation services to medical institutions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

As the Vice Chair Unit of the Society of Oral Pathology, Chinese Stomatological Association, and the only National Standardized Resident Training Base for Oral Pathology in Guangdong Province, the department plays a leading role in compiling national undergraduate and residency training textbooks on oral pathology.It is a key member of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Pathology Alliance and the National Medical Center Oral Pathology Alliance. In 2024, it was designated as a Clinical Key Specialty of Guangdong Province.

Clinical Services

The department provides clinical pathology services for the Yuexiu Campus, Tianhe Campus, Zhujiang New Town Clinic and Eastern Clinic, offering advanced techniques including immunohistochemistry, special staining, immunofluorescence, in situ hybridization, and fluorescence in situ hybridization. In 2025, the department processed 6075 biopsy cases and 2,607 frozen sections, with a consistent growth in paraffin sections, frozen sections, expert consultations, and teleconsultation.

Functioning as Consultation Center for Oral Pathology in South China, its influence extends across the Pearl River Delta and four southern provinces, providing high-quality diagnostic support for complex regional cases. Numerous classic cases from the department have been published in the Chinese Journal of Stomatology and archived in the Chinese Clinical Case Results Database.

Education and Talent Development

The department oversees Oral Histopathology curricula for all academic levels at the Guanghua School of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University. Faculty members have contributed to the 9th edition of the national textbook and residency training modules, and have served as editors-in-chief for authoritative works such as the Color Atlas of Dental Tissue and Anatomical Morphology.

The department won the First Prize of the Sun Yat-sen University Teaching Achievement Awards. Under the department's mentorship, residents have secured two first prizes and one third prize in hospital-level clinical case competitions. Furthermore, the department independently developed a Virtual Simulation Teaching and Digital Slide Viewing Platform, securing four national software copyrights, two invention patents, and one utility model patent.

Research Achievements and Academic Contributions

The department actively leads or participates in numerous high-level research projects and expert consensuses, including the Guideline on pathological diagnosis of oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and Guideline on pathological diagnosis of salivary gland tumors. It has edited or co-authored major monographs such as Clinicopathologic Diagnosis and Differential Diagnosis: Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases and Diagnosis, Treatment and Rehabilitation of Oral Cancer and Oropharyngeal Cancer throughout Life Cycle, providing critical support for the standardization of oral pathology in China.

The department has published numerous papers in prestigious international journals, including two SCI publications with an impact factor exceeding 10. In 2025, the multi-center clinical study "Copy Number Alterations Predict Development of OSCC from Oral Leukoplakia", in which the department participated, was honored with the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) William J. Gies Award for the Best Clinical Research.