The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology is the major tertiary referral centre for gynaecological cancers. The Department’s Gynaecological Oncology Division has been providing specialised care for women with cancer for over forty years.

It offers a multi-disciplinary approach and is able to provide a full range of treatment such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and palliative care. It is also a tertiary referral centre for both common and rare gynaecological malignancies, with the majority of patients being referred from both private and government hospitals in Hong Kong and Macau.

The Division is an accredited training centre for gynaecological oncology and, under Professor Hextan Ngan’s direction, it gives a high standard of patient care service. Professor Ngan’s expertise in cervical cancer screening, HPV and genetic studies in cervical cancer has gained international recognition. She was appointed as Chairperson of the Gynecologic Oncology Committee of International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) which is internationally respected as the authority on the management of gynaecological cancers with over 100 national society members.

As Head of the University’s Gynaecological Oncology Division, Professor Ngan has contributed significantly to clinical research on gynaecological cancers. Her team is among the first few major international centres to report on the beneficial effect of chemoradiation over radiotherapy alone.

She has made a major contribution in the field of gestational trophoblastic diseases (GTD). The department is a tertiary referral centre for these diseases and Professor Ngan’s group is well known internationally in the GTD field. Data from the Centre was selected as evidence for the revision of the FIGO 1992 and 2000 Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia staging.

Professor Ngan is the director of a three-year oncology-training programme that is recognised by Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. As an expert on colposcopy, she is responsible for the training and accreditation of the colposcopists and colposcopy service in the Gynaecological Oncology Division. She is also President of the Hong Kong College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists.

Professor Ngan graduated from HKU in 1978 and obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree in 1995. She joined the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1979 and became a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in 1983 and Fellow in 1996. She was a Founding Fellow of Academy of Medicine in 1993 and was the first gynaecological oncologist accredited by RCOG in Hong Kong in 1993.

She has produced over 440 publications, including 244 peer reviewed articles, and over 185 conference papers and book chapters. Her research focuses on both biomolecular studies in gynaecological cancers and clinical research. Professor Ngan’s contributions to community service include Chairperson of the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong and advisor to non-government and government associations. She also takes an active part in public education through public lectures, newspapers, magazines as well as broadcasting in radio and television.