PHILIPPINE MUSCULOSKELETAL TUMOR SOCIETY (2004)

History (2009)

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On December 10, 2003, five orthopedic oncologists met during the POA convention at EDSA
Shangri-La hotel to discuss the idea of forming a specialty society for musculoskeletal tumors in the Philippines. The concept of a Philippine Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (PMTS) took shape in the following months of 2004 with eight orthopaedic musculoskeletal tumor surgeons as founding members. Its first officers were: Dr. Edward HM. Wang, president, Dr. Rafael S. Claudio, vice president, Dr. Cesar DL Dimayuga, secretary, Dr. Ricardo S. Rotor, treasurer, with the following members: Dr. Judith Valerie M. Akol, Dr. Marie Jeanne L. Bertol,
Dr. Ivan John C. Concepcion, and Dr. Albert Jerome C. Quintos.

 

The by-laws of the society was approved in May 2004 with the purpose of promoting musculoskeletal oncology in both the local, regional and international setting. The society carried with it the objectives of leading and promoting the practice of musculoskeletal oncology in the Philippines, standardizing management, increasing public awareness, promoting continuing education, training and research into this field, representing Filipino musculoskeletal oncologists in international meetings and societies, and promoting fellowship, mutual aid and respect among its members. In September 2004, the society was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as the Philippine Musculoskeletal Tumor Society, Incorporated. In October 2004, the society had its first recognition by a local specialty society by becoming a participating society in the annual convention of the Philippine Society of Oncologists in October 2004. On December 1, 2004, in the business meeting of the Philippine Orthopedic Association, the PMTS officially became an affiliate of the POA. On December 4, 2004 its first officers were inducted by then POA president, Dr. Rodolfo Nitollama. This was followed by the induction of its regular and affiliate members. The society did not waste any time by conducting very well-attended subspecialty sessions on metastatic bone tumors immediately after the induction ceremonies. 

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The following years with Dr. Edward Wang (2004 -2006) followed by Dr. Rafael Claudio (2007-2008), and Dr. Cesar Dimayuga (2009-2010), at its helm, the PMTS continues to grow in size and recognition. At present its membership has grown to eighteen regular members representing musculoskeletal tumor units in centers from northern Luzon to southern Mindanao. It has been actively involved in POA conventions by conducting subspecialty sessions and instructional course lectures.

Postgraduate courses on musculoskeletal tumors have been conducted by the PMTS organized with local centers or organizations such as the East Avenue Medical Center in 2005; the Northern Luzon chapter of the POA in 2005, and the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center in 2007. The society and its members continue to participate in the activities and conferences of the Philippine Society of Oncology and its projects such as the revision of the chapters on sarcoma in the PSO Oncology handbook, among others. Round table discussions and inter-hospital musculoskeletal tumor case discussions have been held regularly, rotating among the local centers and units involved in musculoskeletal tumor management. Involvement of its members and the society with international musculoskeletal tumor societies such as the International Society on Limb Salvage Surgery (ISOLS), and the Asia Pacific Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (APMSTS) have paid off with the election of the Philippines to host the 8th Asia Pacific Musculoskeletal Tumor Society. This will be held in Shangri-La hotel in Mactan, Cebu from February 24 to 27, 2010.
 

THE PMTS EMBLEM
The logo for the newly formed Philippine Musculoskeletal Tumor Society is a product of initial
logo designs by Drs. Rafael Claudio, Cesar Dimayuga, and Ivan Concepcion. With the input of the other founding members, Mike Villanueva of the POA Secretariat artistically combined the ideas to come up with the final logo. The PMTS emblem depicts a “Filipinized” version of the orthopaedic tree, the bamboo, arising in response to the problem of cancer, symbolized by the crab. The eight branches of the bamboo symbolize both the organization’s founding members and the multidisciplinary approach to musculoskeletal tumors 1) orthopedic oncology; 2) medical and pediatric oncology; 3) radiation oncology; 4) musculoskeletal pathology; 5) the reconstructive team; 6) anesthesia and pain medicine; 7) rehabilitation medicine and 8) auxiliary team: psychiatry, oncologic nursing, social work and support group. The emblem shows a distally resected femur which is reconstructed with an allograft – tumor prosthesis composite. The tibial spike of the tumor prosthesis is shown piercing the crab. The orthopedic tree and the bone alloprosthesis composite are united by external fixation pins. On the left-most side of the logo are letters in the old Filipino script alibata or baybayin representing the letters PMTS. Around the logo are words PHILIPPINE MUSCULOSKELETAL TUMOR SOCIETY,
INC. and the year of its founding 2004.