Published in the ICCCPO Newsletter 2004, No 2.  

In 1959, governments and pediatric societies worldwide realized that leukemia and other malignancies were the main cause of death in children after the first year of life. At that time, few pediatricians were involved in basic research and clinical investigation on these diseases, and few hospital departments were devoted to this specialty. To be sure, the pediatric unit of the Institut Gustave-Roussy in Paris directed by Dr. Odile Schweisguth was one of the pioneering groups in Europe. Being able to count on this expertise, therefore, the Centre International de l’Enfance organized the first advanced course on pediatric leukemia and cancer at its Chateau de Longchamp headquarters in Paris, nominating Dr. Schweisguth as course director. The faculty included several professors from the University of Paris and a few from other countries who were particularly active in this field of pediatrics. Some lectures and the practical work were held with hospitals throughout Paris. Course participants were chosen by their respective governments and provided with a grant; only a few countries were allowed to send two students, since the intention was to create a capacity building cascade effect, i.e., to teach only one per country, whose duty and job it became to return home with the acquired knowledge and to impart this at his/her local and country level. Students came from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, UK, USSR, Uruguay, and USA. I had the honor and privilege to be selected as the sole Italian attendee.

On my return to the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Genova, the Director, Prof. Giovanni De Toni, assigned me with the tasks to work and to study in this field by myself. I suppose that my story resembles that of many “trailblazers” from other countries: the main problems are that we’re alone, that we rapidly needed to make decisions, and that we had to persevere in the face of new and difficult challenges. My only possible route to success was to return to Odile’s Unit at least once a year for short, intensive updates.

At this point in the 1960s the need to work together and to have the opportunity to hold meetings on this new specialty was becoming increasingly felt. Most of us joined the then Cooperative Groups of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). We were still able to meet in Paris and to visit Odile, who indeed was a beacon for us, and her department. In 1966, Dr. René Maurus from Brussels, a pupil at the first Course held in Paris and totally devoted to pediatric oncology, and I went to see Odile after a meeting of the EORTC where none of the topics concerned children. We appealed to her to use her experience, acquaintances and clout to unite the few pediatricians interested in oncology and to found a working group. Soon afterwards she organized a first meeting in Paris where the Club Européen d’Oncologie Pédiatrique was launched. On September 24th and 25th, 1967 I organized the second edition in Tremezzo (Como). Thereafter, we held a few more meetings in Paris, and at last in 1968 consensus was reached to establish an international society named the Société Internationale d’Oncologie Pédiatrique (SIOP). Prof. Monereo, a pediatric surgeon from Madrid, was designated to host the first international congress in 1969. Subsequent events included Lyon (1970), Mainz (1971), Manchester (1972), Amsterdam (1973) and Genova (1974).

From its outset, the SIOP has been very active, attracting hundreds of pediatricians, surgeons, radiotherapists, pathologists, nurses and other health care professionals involved in the care of children with cancer from all over the world to its annual conference and continuously adding to its membership ranks.

In conclusion, since 1969 pediatric researchers and clinicians have benefited from the high-level forum that the SIOP annual meeting provides and the effective exchange of experience that it guarantees. Indeed, many working groups have been created as a result of consensus reached during these events, and many important articles have been published in international journals. Surely, the SIOP has served as a continuous stimulus for all of us, basic and clinical researchers alike.

Having been a part of the society’s birth and early growth is a privilege that I cherish.