A hospital in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou was forced to issue a statement in response to social media claims that researchers at its breast cancer lab were diagnosed with a rare cancer around the same time.
The hospital’s report said that in recent years at its breast cancer center, three researchers were diagnosed with cancer but downplayed its significance by saying that the women are recovering and are in stable conditions.
Due to strict controls over state media and China’s heavily censored social media platforms, it is difficult to verify the online claims or the hospital’s response, but the sister of one victim contradicted the hospital’s report in a Chinese media interview.
The sister said that the patients mentioned in the hospital’s report were actively engaged in experimental work and that her sister’s condition was severe, with the family desperately seeking ways to save her life.
Risky Experiment
But for some, the statements from the hospital have only heightened suspicions.
The hospital reportedly specializes in studying “cancer development mechanisms” of tumors with its experiments simulating how cancers develop.
The hospital’s official website contains the research results of a team led by Prof. Song Erwei and Prof. Su Shicheng from a report published on Nov. 19, 2022, titled “Targeting regulator of G protein signaling 1 in tumor-specific T cells enhances their trafficking to breast cancer.”
The research content suggests that the lab’s work is linked to cancer development mechanisms.
Zhao Wenhao (pseudonym), a former pharmaceutical researcher in China, told The Epoch Times that he had also spent time in laboratories conducting clinical research on drugs, but he chose to change his career and is now working on cosmetic research in Guangzhou.
“Research and clinical drug tests are the hardest work in the labs, and you will end up with other people taking credit for your final results,” explained Mr. Zhao regarding China’s medical research field.
“So generally, it is common for lead researchers to delegate lots of the work to their students, which raises the possibility of a lab leak incident at the hospital due to inexperience and negligence.”
Mr. Zhao also said that the cancer development mechanisms must first be modeled by injecting chemical agents into animals or by putting them in simulated carcinogenic environments.
“This exposes them to various types of radiation, heavy metals, and hazardous gases. So once the animals get cancer, scientists can carry out their experiments on them,” he said.
“The experimental animals will be given drugs to treat cancer so the researchers can collect a variety of relevant data,” he said. “This process involves animal blood tests, as well as a final animal autopsy, all of which is high-risk work.”
Mr. Zhao gave an example of dimethylbenzanthracene, a toxic carcinogen that induces breast cancer.
Corruption in China’s Research Sector
Commenting on the alleged incident, China current affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan told The Epoch Times that the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital cancer incident was abnormal. Although the officials claimed that there were only three people, the actual number of people may be more than that.“It cannot be ruled out that this kind of collective cancer diagnosis was related to biosecurity measures in the lab,” said Mr. Tang.
“If there were faulty experimental equipment, then this biosecurity hazard may be widespread to other research facilities in China. It may be caused by a leak, or it may be due to a major oversight issue during the experiment. These cases need to be independently investigated and presented with factual evidence.”
Mr. Tang also pointed out the political interference and considerations in the state’s scientific research facilities.
He said every time an incident occurs due to failed safety measures, the communist regime’s default move is to cover it up and hide the truth.
“This systematically corrupt system may never allow Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital to conduct an independent investigation into the incident,” he said.
