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Zhang Tingdong

1932 – 2025

Chinese doctor

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About Zhang Tingdong

Lived 1932 – 2025 (aged 92–93). Zhang Tingdong was a Chinese chemist and physician.

Zhang Tingdong (; born on November 8, 1932) is a Chinese medical scientist, pharmaceutical chemist, and educator at Harbin Medical University, 1st affiliated Hospital, and is best known for discovering of using arsenic trioxide to treat leukemia, which is regarded as a significant breakthrough of anti-leukemia medicine in the 20th Century and improvement in the lives of people with leukemia.

Early life and education Zhang was born November 8, 1932.

In 1950, Zhang graduated from Harbin Medical University. In 1963, he earned a doctorate degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Ever since, he has worked in the 1st Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, specializing in Hematology of Integrative of Chinese and Western Medicine

Career In March 1971, Han Taiyun of the 1st Affiliated Hospital started to treat cancer patients with a formula he collected from traditional Chinese medicine doctors. It was presumably an oral formula, and contained a mixture of many ingredients, including arsenic chemicals, mercury chloride, and cinobufagin venom toad. Later, Han Taiyun turned the formula into an intramuscular injection called "713" or "cancer spirit". For certain tumors, it worked and became a local hit. But Han Taiyun gave it up because the formula was too toxic for some patients, with side effects including renal toxicity and hypertension.

Zhang is a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine at First Clinical Hospital, affiliated with Harbin Medical University in Harbin, China.

Zhang's results were initially published on Chinese-language literature. In the 1990s, he began to write in English, exposing this method to a broader scientific community. His work became widely known after 1996, when he co-authored a Blood article with Chen Zhu about this method.

Awards , 2nd grade. 2015 Outstanding Scientist Award. Presented by Hong Kong Qiu Shi Science and Technologies Foundation. 2020 Future Science Prize, Life Science Prize (private organization based in China.) 2021 Asian Scientist 100, Asian Scientist

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Important facts

Birth century
Died
2025
Occupation

People in Zhang Tingdong's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

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Frequently asked questions

Who was Zhang Tingdong?

Chinese doctor

When was Zhang Tingdong born?

Zhang Tingdong was born on 8 November 1932.

When did Zhang Tingdong die?

Zhang Tingdong died in 2025.

What was Zhang Tingdong's occupation?

Zhang Tingdong was a chemist and physician.

What nationality was Zhang Tingdong?

Zhang Tingdong was Chinese.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Zhang Tingdong

· Wikidata: Q9085556

· DBpedia: Zhang Tingdong

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Zhang Tingdong. https://biography.guide/zhang-tingdong/

MLA: "Zhang Tingdong." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/zhang-tingdong/.

Chicago: "Zhang Tingdong." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/zhang-tingdong/.

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