title: The new melanoma staging system.
abstract: The new melanoma staging system from The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) is described. This major revision includes new criteria for staging the primary tumor (T), metastatic nodes (N) and distant metastases (M) as well as stage groupings. These criteria more accurately reflect those prognostic features of the primary and metastatic melanoma that correlate with survival outcome. Physicians managing melanoma should use this staging system in their clinical practice and in the conduct of melanoma clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Charles M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Balch
authors.forename: Arthur J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Sober
authors.forename: Seng-jaw
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Soong
authors.forename: Jeffrey E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Gershenwald
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D008545:Melanoma / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000145:classification / Q000379:methods*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology*; D014481:United States