Akira Kawai, M.D.
2019 President of CTOS
The Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) is a unique international interdisciplinary organization that allows clinicians, scientists, and all people who are interested in connective tissue tumors / sarcomas to gather and share knowledge, discuss scientific topics, and plan future collaborative research. Since its establishment in 1995, the CTOS has grown enormously and now has more than 900 members representing over 44 countries. Despite the fact it has become a large-scale organization, it has maintained its original role and spirit as a friendly and supportive community that encourages lively scientific exchange among its members.
The CTOS has played an important role in the impressive gains made recently in our understanding of connective tissue tumors / sarcomas and their multidisciplinary management, and the Annual Meetings of the CTOS have provided an important platform for presentation of research findings and clinical papers on these diseases. Another important objective of the CTOS is to facilitate the progress of international collaborative research and clinical trials focusing on connective tissue tumors / sarcomas. A major trend in cancer treatment in recent years has been the incorporation of precision medicine (clinical sequencing) and immunotherapy. Although the latest attempts for the management of connective tissue tumors / sarcomas in this direction have been met with some difficulties, especially in the context of rare and variety of the conditions, I am very optimistic that the spirit of collaboration existing within the CTOS will lead to the development of new promising treatments for patients with these challenging neoplasms.
The 24th annual meeting of the CTOS will be held in Tokyo on November 13th – 16th, 2019. In line with the aims of the Society, the meeting will focus on multidisciplinary approaches and the promotion of mutual understanding and collaboration between a wide range of specialist disciplines. As this will also be the first time the meeting has been held in Asia, we would like to consider this as an opportunity for further collaboration between East and West. A special session on this topic and programs for mentoring young researchers are currently planned. Tokyo is a diverse city, with a unique history and culture, a stunning range of cuisine, warm-hearted people and a very safe environment, being easily accessible to travelers from all over the world.
I wish you all a terrific year, and look forward to seeing you at CTOS 2019 in Tokyo!