Latin American Society of Musculoskeletal Tumours (SLATME):
29 Years Building Community, Education and Equity in Orthopaedic Oncology
Dr. Eduardo Botello
ISOLS Board Member – Chair, Membership Committee
President, SLATME (2018-2022)
1. Beginnings of a Regional Society
Latin America is a region built upon the convergence of Indigenous, European and African cultures, marked by a long history of transformation. From precolumbian civilizations to independence movements and twentieth-century modernization, the continent has faced deep structural inequalities, yet has consistently demonstrated resilience, creativity, and progress.
Latin American medicine mirrors this same journey. It emerged from ancestral knowledge, incorporated European scientific traditions, and eventually consolidated itself through the creation of modern medical schools, university hospitals and advanced surgical specialties. Despite persistent differences among countries, the region achieved significant advances in surgery, public health, research and medical education, forming strong scientific communities and an expanding professional identity.
Within this context, orthopaedic oncology in Latin America has undergone profound transformation over the past three decades. The idea of uniting regional forces around musculoskeletal tumour care was born in 1995 at the Latin American Orthopaedics and Traumatology Congress, and one year later, in 1996, SLATME was officially founded in Guarujá, Brazil, bringing together distinguished orthopaedic oncologists such as Drs. Jesús García, Pedro Pericles, Elio Consentino, Aldo Castaño, Santiago Escandón, Camilo Soto, Florencio Segura, Miguel Sepúlveda, among others.
For more than 20 years, SLATME’s biannual meetings served as the main regional gathering point, spaces characterized by camaraderie, discussion of complex clinical cases, and scientific exchange. However, the society faced important limitations that required adaptation to a globalized world such as outdated and non-legalized bylaws, absence of a formal registry of members and lack of organizational and financial continuity.
Even so, these early years laid the foundation of SLATME’s identity: a community built on friendship, collaboration, and a deep commitment to improving the care of patients with musculoskeletal tumours.
2. The New Era: Modernization, Professionalization and Openness to the World
Beginning in 2018, SLATME entered a new phase of transformation that fundamentally reshaped its structure and capacity for action. The society was legally constituted with modern bylaws, a clear structure, and transparent financing that ensured governance and inclusive participation for its now more than 200 registered members.
In parallel to administrative modernization, a renewed sense of regional identity emerged, one that transcended national borders and strengthened our collective pride, not only in who we were individually but in what we could achieve together. Technology, internet connectivity and our now eight-year-old SLATME WhatsApp group allowed constant discussion of clinical cases, announcements of national and regional congresses, and above all, created a space where we learned to appreciate and support one another as a true community.
3. … And the Shadow of a Pandemic Tried to Extinguish Our Light…
SLATME was experiencing unprecedented momentum of growth, unity and modernization, when in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. It took millions of lives, confined us to our homes, filled us with fear and uncertainty, and threatened to paralyze our work and isolate our Latin American community.
Instead of stopping, we chose to transform fear into opportunity.
We took the word change, a change that could stop us, and turned it into chance, an opportunity that required only one letter to alter everything.
With that spirit, just one month after the pandemic began, we held the first global Orthopaedic Oncology webinar (April 2020), with more than 120 Latin American participants from across the region. We discovered that even during lockdown, we were more united than ever, and physical distance was no barrier to scientific collaboration or collective purpose.
This event marked a turning point. Interactions strengthened, knowledge expanded, and community bonds deepened. Months later, seeking to contribute even more broadly to the world, we invited ISOLS President Prof. Papagelopoulos and Secretary Prof. Ruggieri (June 2020) to join our second major webinar, an event of even greater success.
From this came the idea of proposing joint webinars to ISOLS. The initiative grew rapidly and today forms a cornerstone of the ISOLS Education Committee, extraordinarily led by Prof. Valerie Lewis, with strong support from Dr. Juan Pablo Zumárraga, inspiring many professionals to join ISOLS.
4. And the Light Continued and Continues to Guide Us
Once the most difficult stage of the pandemic had passed, Latin America’s engagement expanded with remarkable strength, contributing actively and learning from partner regional and global societies, especially ISOLS. Today, Latin America represents the second largest membership group within ISOLS, surpassed only by Asia, despite accounting for just 8% of the world’s population. This reflects both commitment and a profound desire for scientific integration.
In 2022, during the ISOLS Congress in Los Angeles chaired by Prof. Francis Hornicek, SLATME was officially invited as a Partner Society, a historic milestone for the region. In addition, the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) invited SLATME as the Guest Society at its Annual Congress to be held in Mexico City, a testament to our growth, presence and the international respect earned.
SLATME has worked to build strong, deep, and enduring relationships with orthopaedic oncology societies across the world. In this spirit, the society actively participates in major global collaborative research efforts such as PARITY, PERFORM and it now contributes to the new International Sarcoma Registry, an initiative led by Ben Miller and an outstanding team of orthopaedic oncologists representing every continent. SLATME is also actively involved in leading a multicentre study on diffuse tenosynovial giant cell tumour of the knee, a project currently being coordinated within our region. In addition, SLATME enthusiastically joined the very first global consensus effort in our subspecialty, BOOM, led by Prof. Lee Jeys. This remarkable and unprecedented effort, now moving to Cape Town, where Prof. Hosking will host the next phase of this international consensus, has inspired our entire region, and Latin America is already preparing to participate actively in one of the world’s most scientifically rigorous and impactful events.
Academically and scientifically, SLATME has increased its presence at international congresses, produced joint publications, and created the first Latin American textbook on general concepts in orthopaedic oncology.
- Zamora T, Guerrero A, Vidal C, Botello E, Galli M, Casales N, Zeballos J, Zumarraga J, Cuervo C, Linares, F. Defining Core Competencies for Generalists in Musculoskeletal Oncology: A Latin-American Consensus for Medical Education. J Cancer Educ. 2025; doi:10.1007/S13187-025-02595-1.
- Zamora T, Suarez H, A, Vidal C, Botello E, Galli M, Casales N, Zeballos J, Zumarraga J, Cuervo C, Linares, F. The Practice of Musculoskeletal Oncology in Latin America: Current Challenges and New Perspectives”. To be presented at MSTS 2025; further publication to follow.
5. … Thus Our History Is Built, and We Hope It Continues to Be Written
Each stage, our humble beginnings, deep modernization, resilience during the pandemic, scientific expansion, and embrace of international societies, forms part of a journey that reflects who we are as a region. Our Latin American passion, intensity and strength have not only endured; they have grown, consolidated and now project themselves toward the future with unmatched clarity.
SLATME opens its arms to the world, contributing its energy and identity to the global community, especially through ISOLS, the international organization that unites all orthopaedic oncology societies across continents. Together, we aim to build a more inclusive, generous and collaborative global environment.
