title: Comparison of TNM-based stage grouping versus UICC/AJCC stage grouping (7th edition) in malignant parotid gland tumors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although the UICC/AJCC's TNM staging of the 7th edition was improved in 2002, there are still shortcomings concerning the prognostic quality. Alternative TNM-based stage-groupings such as the T and N Integer Score (TANIS) where shown to have a better prognostic quality for various kinds of head and neck tumors in the past. The aim of the study was to compare the prognostic value of the 7th edition of the UICC/AJCC TNM-classification for carcinoma of the parotid gland with different TNM-based stage groupings.
  
  
  METHODS
  The retrospective analysis included 180 patients with carcinoma of the parotid gland diagnosed between 1986 and 2007. The stage grouping system of the 7th edition of the UICC/AJCC and TNM-based stage-groupings (TANIS-3, TANIS-8, Snyderman, Berg and Hart) were tested for their prognostic significance. Overall survival (OS) was plotted by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Prognostic factors were identified through univariate and multivariate analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In univariate analysis all stage-groupings had a highly significant impact on overall survival (p<0.05), however in multivariate analysis, only the TANIS-8 scheme (p=0.008) and Snyderman scheme (p=0.047) predicted OS, while the UICC/AJCC-classification did not predict OS significantly (p=0.381).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In comparison to other TNM-based stage groupings the UICC/AJCC-classification did not provide significant prediction of OS, while alternative stage-groupings such as the TANIS-8 had a higher prognostic value.
authors.affiliation: Department for Oral and Maxillofacial Plastic Surgery, University of Cologne, Germany; Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Cologne-Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: mattheskreppel@yahoo.de.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kreppel
authors.affiliation: Department for Oral and Maxillofacial Plastic Surgery, University of Cologne, Germany; Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Cologne-Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scheer
authors.affiliation: Department for Otorhinolaryngology and Head Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Germany; Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Cologne-Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Moritz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Department for Otorhinolaryngology and Head Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Germany; Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Cologne-Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stenner
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Cologne, Germany; Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Cologne-Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wedemeyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Cologne, Germany; Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Cologne-Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Drebber
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Cologne, Germany; Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Cologne-Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Semrau
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Cologne, Germany; Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Cologne-Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Margarete
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Odenthal
authors.affiliation: Department for Oral and Maxillofacial Plastic Surgery, University of Cologne, Germany; Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Cologne-Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Zöller
authors.affiliation: Department for Otorhinolaryngology and Head Neck Surgery, Jena University Hospital, Germany.
authors.forename: Orlando
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Guntinas-Lichius
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Cologne, Germany; Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Cologne-Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Büttner
authors.affiliation: Department for Otorhinolaryngology and Head Neck Surgery, University of Cologne, Germany; Center of Integrated Oncology (CIO), Cologne-Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Beutner
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010306:Parotid Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012468:Salivary Gland Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Multivariate analysis; Parotid gland cancer; Prognosis; Stage grouping; TANIS