LAUSR

Simple Summary The Cooperative Osteosarcoma Study Group (COSS), active since the late 1970s, is a multi-institutional consortium representing Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Its goals are to cure as many osteosarcoma patients as possible with as few late effects as achievable. Over the decades, COSS has amassed and followed more than 5000 affected patients into trials and its registry. This has allowed the group to perform many meaningful analyses. These have focused on specific trials as well as on particular patient-, tumor-, or treatment-related variables. Intergroup cooperation has further expanded knowledge generation about this rare disease, its variants, and some closely related malignancies. The present paper presents an overview over more than four decades of fruitful collaboration. Abstract Introduction: Osteosarcoma treatment has benefitted greatly from collaborative research. This paper describes the history and accomplishments of the Cooperative Osteosarcoma Study Group (COSS), mainly dedicated to clinical questions, as well as remaining challenges. Materials and Methods: Narrative review of over four decades of uninterrupted collaboration within the multi-national German–Austrian–Swiss COSS group. Results: Since its very first prospective osteosarcoma trial starting in 1977, COSS has continuously been able to provide high-level evidence on various tumor- and treatment-related questions. This includes both the cohort of patients enrolled into prospective trials as well as those patients excluded from them for various reasons, followed in a prospective registry. Well over one hundred disease-related publications attest to the group’s impact on the field. Despite these accomplishments, challenging problems remain. Discussion: Collaborative research within a multi-national study group resulted in better definitions of important aspects of the most common bone tumor, osteosarcoma, and its treatments. Important challenges continue to persist.