The History of CTOS

In 1993, a wealthy patient with a sarcoma, who had consulted a number of experts in the field regarding his management, invited a group of those physicians and a few others recognized for their interest in sarcomas to Boca Raton, Florida, for a meeting to discuss the state of knowledge about this group of rare diseases. It was the patient’s contention that although there were experts, communication among those experts was suboptimal and that poor communication ultimately detracted from the optimization of patient care. After that meeting, one of those present, Dr. Herman Suit, suggested that we should keep up an ongoing dialog by forming an organization. The following year, a planning meeting was held, and all present agreed to Dr. Suit’s idea. The organization was called the Connective Tissue Oncology Society - CTOS – and it was to be multidisciplinary and international. The first meeting was held one year later in Boston. Since that time, CTOS has grown to an organization of more than 400 members representing over 30 countries.

The Connective Tissue Oncology Society was formed in 1995 and incorporated in 1997. CTOS is an international group comprised of physicians and scientists with a primary interest in the tumors of connective tissues. The goal of the society is to advance the care of patients with connective tissue tumors and to increase knowledge of all aspects of the biology of these tumors, including basic and clinical research.