[Improvement of Japanese general rules and the TNM classification of stomach cancer--a proposal for a new stage-grouping].

At present, three major manuals for gastric cancer study are in use, the General rules of the Japanese Research Society (JRS), the TNM classification of the UICC, and the TNM classification of the American Joint Committee (AJC). Differences between these systems have produced considerable confusion and rendered comparison between different reports very difficult. In order to produce an internationally unified system of staging, a meeting was held in December 1984 in Hawaii between experts in gastric cancer representing the UICC, the AJC, and the JRS. A new TNM classification and staging was proposed at the meeting and was approved by the UICC, the AJC, and the JRS in 1985. In this paper, the background and evolution of the new classification are described, and end results of surgical treatment staged by this system are presented.