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Clinical Staging

Staging is the clinical or pathological process of investigation of the extent of tumor. In general, it is based on clinical, radiological, and operative information. Staging is used to determine the plan of treatment and preoperative assessment to the patient and allows making decisions regarding adjuvant therapy. Besides, it also provides useful prognostic information. Furthermore, it also provides a basis for comparison of treatment outcomes between different centers.

TNM system
The TNM classification is the most widely used system for staging of cancer. This system is a commentary on uniform use to describe the anatomical extent of cancer. Below are definitions of TNM respectively:

T: refers to the extent of primary tumor,
N: refers to the extent of nodal metastases.
M: refer to the presence or absence of distant metastases.
T - primary tumor
Tx Primary tumor can not be assessed
T0 No evidence of primary tumor
Tis Carcinoma in-situ
T1-4 Increasing size and local extent of primary tumor
N - regional lymph nodes
Nx Regional lymph nodes can not be assessed
N0 No regional lymph node metastases
N1-3 Increasing involvement of regional lymph nodes
M - distant metastases
Mx Distant metastases can not be assessed
No Distant metastases
M1 Distant metastases present
         
         
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