Abstract:

TNM staging of lung cancer serves as standard to guide clinical practice. There are greater changes in TNM staging from the six edition to the seventh edition published in 2009 by UICC/IASLC. T staging and M staging are revised in the seventh edition of TNM staging based on the findings from the follow-up of 81 015 cases of lung cancer. The seventh edition of TNM staging is more consistent with the survival curves of lung cancer. In this paper, the main contents of the seventh TNM staging and the possible impact on clinical practice are introduced.

Key words: lung cancer, TNM staging, survival curve, clinical practice