title: Esophageal cancer staging: past, present, and future.
abstract: TNM cancer staging, conceived 70 years ago, was first applied to the esophagus in 1977. Prior staging was neither data-driven nor harmonized with stomach cancer. Machine-learning analysis of worldwide data addressed these shortcomings in the 7th edition. The 8th edition considers 6 problems in attempting to advance esophageal cancer staging.
authors.affiliation: Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, and Heart and Vascular Institute, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Desk J4-1, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. Electronic address: ricet@ccf.org.
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: Eugene H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Blackstone
mesh_terms: D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000266:history* / Q000473:pathology; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000266:history*
keywords: 7th edition AJCC Cancer Staging Manual; Cancer location; Histologic grade; Histopathologic cell type; M classification; N classification; Stage grouping; T classification