Henry Q. Xiong
Medical Oncologist

As a principal investigator for more than a dozen clinical trials at M.D. Anderson Hospital, one of the largest and most prestigious cancer institutions in the world, Henry Xiong, M.D., spent five years overseeing work on breakthrough drugs and treatment regimens for gastrointestinal cancers.

At 45, in the fall of 2006, he made a life-changing decision to focus on patient care. Xiong says, “I really enjoy interaction with patients. When The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Fort Worth offered me the position of Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center of Excellence, I knew I would have the opportunity to focus mainly on helping patients and do a smaller amount of research—as opposed to a great deal of research and some patient care.”

Prior to his five years on the staff at M.D. Anderson, Xiong, completed a three year fellowship at M.D. Anderson. He also completed a three year internship and residency at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and obtained a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Having accomplished so much in academics, research, and patient care, it could be assumed that Henry Xiong was a child prodigy from a highly intellectual home. He is actually the son of a small town attorney and a stay-at-home mom. He grew up in Anhui Province, a village on the banks of the Yangtze River in the eastern part of China, about 200 miles north of Shanghai. As a boy he excelled at math and science, but was often more interested in the concrete ping-pong table on the playground than his studies.

However, he was a standout on a national level, scoring well enough to be accepted directly into medical school upon graduation from high school. After completing a five-year program at one of China’s top institutions at the time, the Shanghai Medical University, the young man was selected to become a faculty member in the microbiology department of the same university.

In 1989, he married Wei (pronounced “way”) Hu, another medical school graduate. The couple settled into a dormitory at the university, but noticed a trend among their peers. Many were leaving China to study abroad. Xiong began to consider the possibility for himself, as a means to open doors for new career prospects.

Xiong’s strength in leaving his homeland and his continuous pursuit of excellence in training and research has given him an excellent background for helping those struggling with cancer.
Although his priorities have changed and his workday is filled with life and death matters, Xiong’s boyhood love of a challenging round of ping-pong has not diminished. The family has a ping-pong table rather than a pool table in the game room of their Southlake home. “Ending the day with a few rounds is a great way to keep everything in perspective—and so far I still win,” says Xiong.