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History
of the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors and Preface to the 20th Anniversary
Journal of Neuro-Oncology Special Issue
Fred G. Barker II, Mark E. Linskey
Neurosurgical Service, Massachusetts
General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [F.G.B.II];
University of California, Irvine, CA, USA [M.E.L.].
The
Joint Section on Tumors of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons
(AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) was formed in 1984, at
the suggestion of Dr. Edward R. Laws, Jr. and with Dr. Mark Rosenblum as the
first Section Chair.
The Joint Section on Tumors is the first professional organization devoted to
the study and treatment of brain tumors.
Its initial goals were to ‘assist
in the education of neurosurgeons in neuro-oncology and to serve as a resource
[to the AANS and CNS] and other national groups on the clinical treatment of and
research into nervous system tumors’.
During its 20-year history, the Section has facilitated both open and invited
talks at the neurosurgical national meetings, conducted its own Satellite
Symposia, and instituted multiple awards and grants.
Members have conducted research surveys and national practice pattern studies,
and have collected and disseminated information on clinical protocols, research
funding opportunities, and fellowships in neurosurgical oncology.
Guidelines for brain tumor treatment and for neuro-oncology fellowships for
surgeons have been written by Section committees.
Studies presented orally at Section meetings, 1999–2002,
had a remarkably high rate of full publication compared to other meetings –
73% actuarial at 4 years after presentation.
Finally, nationwide in-hospital mortality rates for craniotomy for malignant
glioma have fallen from 8 to 2% during the Section's existence.
These data suggest that the Section's goals of educating all surgeons in
neurosurgical oncology are being successfully met.
A bibliography of secondary sources on the history of brain tumor surgery is
appended.
Keywords: brain
tumors, congresses, craniotomy, historical article, mortality, subspecialization
Copyright
© 2004 Kluwer
Academic Publishers. All rights reserved
Source: http://ipsapp007.kluweronline.com/IPS/content/ext/x/J/5042/I/124/A/1/abstract.htm
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