The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Staging Committee has prospectively created an international lung cancer database that was used to address many lung cancer staging questions, such as tumor size, nodal status, and metastatic disease. The proposed changes for the upcoming 8th edition of the cancer staging manual were based on survival data and better prognostic stratification of patients with lung cancer.
OBJECTIVES
To review published recommendations for the revision of lung carcinoma TNM staging and to address potential challenges in pathologic staging.
DATA SOURCE
PubMed available articles by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Staging Committee were reviewed.
CONCLUSIONS
The TNM system remains the best prognosticator of lung cancer outcome. The recommendations are established on new prospective data analysis and reflect the improvements in prognostic separation of patients with lung cancer based on a multidisciplinary approach.
