title: The principles of cancer staging.
abstract: The anatomic disease extent or tumour stage of a cancer at diagnosis as a determinant of prognosis is discussed. The importance of cancer stage in individual patient prognosis and determination of treatment is reviewed as well as its value in research and cancer control activities. The conflict between the need for stability of cancer stage definitions over time and the need to evolve with advances in medicine are examined. Theecancer elearning modules on Cancer Stage are introduced.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, 610 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brierley
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, 610 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gospodarowicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, 610 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 2M9, Canada.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: O'Sullivan
keywords: cancer control; disease extent; prognosis; prognostic factor; staging; tumour profile