Ji is most notable for his effort in promoting the standardization of gastric cancer treatment in
China as well as his leading role in the construction of the world's largest gastric cancer biobank.[1][5] He received the
State Scientific and Technological Progress Award for his achievements.[6]
Ji started working as a resident at the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University in 1982 immediately after his graduation.[4] He left in 1987 for
Beijing and became an
associate professor of surgery in 1990 at the Peking University School of Oncology.[4] In 2000, he was promoted to become a professor of surgery and the director of the Gastrointestinal Surgical Department / Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at the Peking University Cancer Hospital.[4] In July 2011, Ji was appointed president of the Peking University Cancer Hospital / School of Oncology & Beijing Institute for Cancer Research, and in January 2013, director of the Key Laboratory in "Malignancy Pathogenesis and Translational Research" under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China; his term as the president ended in June 2022.[4][8]
In 1996, Ji initiated the construction of the Peking University Cancer Hospital Gastric Cancer Biobank.[14] By 2019, the biobank had stored more than two million samples and contributed to 104 research projects, including the
International Cancer Genome Consortium.[15]
From 2006 to 2014, Ji participated in the
capecitabine and
oxaliplatin adjuvant study in stomach cancer (CLASSIC) study, in which he was the principal investigator for the Chinese subgroup.[16][17] His results showed that in patients with advanced gastric cancer, the
adjuvant capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CAPOX) chemotherapy increased the 3-year disease-free survival rate after
gastrectomy with D2
lymphadenectomy[Note 1] from 56% to 78%, hence establishing CAPOX as the preferred option of peri-operative treatment for gastric cancer in China.[17][6]
In 2008, Ji introduced a "modularized" version of D2 gastrectomy. In his own words, the modularized gastrectomy "dissembles the procedure into 12 ordered modules, each with standardized operational steps, making the surgery a safe and standard process."[15] He has since been promoting such an approach across China, and by 2019, the nationwide mortality rate of D2 gastrectomy had decreased to 0.24%.[15]
Ji Jiafu at the 2017 IGCC
In 2015, Ji was elected the Congress President of the International Gastric Cancer Association (IGCA), hence held the 12th International Gastric Cancer Congress (IGCC) in Beijing, China on April 20–23, 2017.[19] The congress was a great success: there were 3,816 participants from 48 countries across the world, and 1,245 abstracts had been submitted including 99 oral presentations and 540 posters.[10] Ji subsequently became the President of IGCA. During his term (2017-2019), Ji advocated for his modularized gastrectomy on a global level and shared his experiences with surgeons from different countries; he also helped with the founding of the European Sub-Association of IGCA.[20]
In 2017, Ji was awarded the Second Class State Scientific and Technological Progress Award for developing "key techniques in building an integrated system for the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer."[21]
In 2019, Ji completed the world's first phase III randomized controlled trial on laparoscopic D2 gastrectomy and published his results on JAMA.[15]
2016, Outstanding Achievement Award for Scientific Research in Colleges and Universities (Science and Technology Advancement Award) of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, First Class[31]
2016, China Medical Science and Technology Award, First Class[32]
2015, WuXi PharmaTech Life Science and Chemistry Awards, Outstanding Achievements Award[33]
2014, Wu Jieping-Paul Janssen Medical - Pharmaceutical Award[34]
2013, Science and Technology Award of Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, First Class[35]
2012, Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Award, Third Class[36]
^Gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy (or D2 gastrectomy) is the standard surgery performed for patients with advanced gastric cancer in Asia.[15] It is named so because it includes the dissection of all the Group 1 and Group 2 lymph nodes around the stomach.[18]