The IASLC/ITMIG Thymic Epithelial Tumors Staging Project: proposals for the N and M components for the forthcoming (8th) edition of the TNM classification of malignant tumors.
Stage classification is an important underpinning of management of patients with cancer, and rests on a combination of three components: T for tumor extent, N for nodal involvement, and M for more distant metastases. This article details an initiative to develop proposals for the first official stage classification system for thymic malignancies for the 8th edition of the stage classification manuals. Specifically, the results of analysis of a large database and the considerations leading to the proposed N and M components are described. Nodal involvement is divided into an anterior (N1) and a deep (N2) category. Metastases can involve pleural or pericardial nodules (M1a) or intraparenchymal pulmonary nodules or metastases to distant sites (M1b).
*Thoracic Surgery, University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan; †Thoracic Surgery, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium; ‡Thoracic Surgery, Yale University, New Haven, CT; §Thoracic Surgery, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan; ‖Biostatistics, Cancer Research And Biostatistics, Seattle, WA; ¶Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; #Radiation Oncology, Queen's University, Ontario, Canada; **Thoracic Surgery, University of Torino, Torino, Italy; ††Medical Oncology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC; ‡‡Thoracic Surgery, Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; §§Thoracic Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea; ‖‖Thoracic Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; ¶¶Pathology, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy; ##Radiology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; ***Pathology, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK.
Kazuya
K
Kondo
Paul
P
Van Schil
Frank C
FC
Detterbeck
Meinoshin
M
Okumura
Kelly
K
Stratton
Dorothy
D
Giroux
Hisao
H
Asamura
John
J
Crowley
Conrad
C
Falkson
Pier Luigi
PL
Filosso
Giuseppe
G
Giaccone
James
J
Huang
Jhingook
J
Kim
Marco
M
Lucchi
Mirella
M
Marino
Edith M
EM
Marom
Andrew G
AG
Nicholson
Enrico
E
Ruffini
D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009375:Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial / Q000145:classification* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000145:classification* / Q000473:pathology