In putting together the program for EMSOS 2009 we have two main aims:

• to provide delegates with an opportunity to gain state of the art knowledge on the diagnosis and treatment bone and soft tissue sarcoma
• and
• to give participants and their guests an understanding of Stuttgart’s culture and an opportunity to sample the best of the region.
  

I would especially like to point out that this (somewhat extended) EMSOS meeting is open to both EMSOS members and non-EMSOS members and is relevant to everyone involved in the treatment of patients of all ages with musculoskeletal tumors. Putting a special emphasis on adolescents and young adults, expert speakers will examine recent innovations and controversies in the field of limb salvage surgery for malignant bone and soft-tissue sarcomas, including custom-made and modular endoprostheses used for the reconstruction of salvaged extremities, systemic treatment approaches including chemotherapy, the newest developments in the field of targeted therapies, and recent innovations in quality of life and after-care programs.  The venue for the conference is one of Stuttgart’s architectural highlights – the “Haus der Wirtschaft”. This imposing building with its dome shaped towers and grand staircase was built in 1896 as the Baden-Wuerttemberg State Museum of Trade and Industry and provides us with an ideal venue for our scientific sessions, poster and industry exhibitions.  

While we cannot show you everything that Baden-Wuerttemberg has to offer in the short time available during EMSOS 2009 for the social program, we have done our best to present some of the highlights. Our Welcome Party on Wednesday, 14 May will be held in the excellent “Plenum” restaurant in the Baden-Wuerttemberg parliament building and at the gala dinner on Thursday, 15 May you will be able to enjoy some of the best Stuttgart wines, culinary dishes and entertainment in what was formerly Germany’s largest cooperative wine press. Stuttgart’s Mayor has invited us to a reception at Stuttgart’s City Hall on Friday, 15 May and on Saturday, 16 May we pay tribute to the fact that in 1887 Daimler Benz put the first four wheeled automobile into production in Stuttgart by offering tours to both the Mercedes Benz and Porsche museums. 

We hope that the EMSOS 2009 scientific program, combined with what you already know and will find out about Stuttgart and Baden-Wuerttemberg, will convince you to join us at the conference and perhaps even stay on for the weekend to sample even more of what the region has to offer.

Stefan Bielack, EMSOS Vice-President and 2009 Meeting Local Organizer

Dear EMSOS members and non-EMSOS members

It is a pleasure to invite you to the 22nd EMSOS Meeting along with the 10th EMSOS Symposium for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals in Stuttgart.

The yearly EMSOS meetings are unique because of their multidisciplinary approach to all related items to bone and soft tissue tumor treatment and research. To achieve continuing progress in the quality of our work we need your participation as European specialists and members of this society. The program of the 2009 meeting, put together by Stefan Bielack, his team and the EMSOS scientific committee, is typical of the variety of topics necessary for interactive discussion between scientists and clinicians. Your attendance and the participation of young colleagues from your institutions is important to make this meeting a success, not only with regard to professional experience, but also with a view to achieving an exchange and establishing long lasting friendships.

I hope to see many of you in Stuttgart.

Antonie Taminiau, EMSOS-President