Clinical staging of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

This article is the first in a planned series from the Section on Lung Cancer of the ACCP addressing the important and clinically relevant aspects of what is now the most common malignancy in the world, lung cancer. This initial report addresses the problem of staging of lung cancer. Staging, or identifying the anatomic extent of disease according to the AJCC TNM classification scheme, is the first clinical activity in caring for a patient with known or presumed lung cancer because the results determine appropriate types of therapy. This is, therefore, a critically important aspect of the patient's care which forms the foundation for subsequent treatment. In addition, consistent use of this system, based on appropriate clinical and pathologic staging, in stratifying patients in clinical reports is mandatory; otherwise, meaningful comparisons and conclusions are impossible.