# Zhu Chen

Source: https://onco.cc/people/chen-zhu/  
OnCo record `chen-zhu` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Zhu Chen, a leukaemia scientist who became China's health minister, co-developed the retinoic acid plus arsenic treatment that cures most acute promyelocytic leukaemia and then reformed the health system that pays for it.

## Summary

At the Shanghai Institute of Hematology, Chen's laboratory showed that arsenic trioxide degrades the PML-RARA oncoprotein and, with Saijuan Chen, established ATRA plus arsenic as frontline APL therapy (PNAS 2004), a synthesis of a Chinese traditional remedy with molecular oncology. As Minister of Health he oversaw the 2009 health reform that extended basic insurance to almost the whole population, the foundation of today's NRDL negotiations. Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Also known as: 陈竺
- Tags: china
- Role: Professor, Shanghai Institute of Hematology, Ruijin Hospital; former Minister of Health of China (2007 to 2013)
- Specialisms: Acute promyelocytic leukaemia; Molecular haematology; Health policy

## Sources

- Ruijin Hospital: https://www.rjh.com.cn/
- PubMed author search: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Chen%20Z%5BAuthor%5D%20arsenic%20trioxide%20PML-RARA

## Connected records

- institutions: [National Healthcare Security Administration](https://onco.cc/institutions/nhsa/), [Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University](https://onco.cc/institutions/ruijin-hospital/)
- cancers: [Acute myeloid leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/aml/)
- drugs: [Arsenic trioxide](https://onco.cc/drugs/arsenic-trioxide/), [Tretinoin (all-trans retinoic acid, ATRA)](https://onco.cc/drugs/tretinoin-atra/)
- people: [Saijuan Chen](https://onco.cc/people/chen-saijuan/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/chen-zhu.json