Xiao-Jing Du, Gao-Yuan Wang, Xiao-Dong Zhu, Ya-Qian Han, Feng Lei, Liang-Fang Shen, Kun-Yu Yang, Lei Chen, Yan-Ping Mao, Ling-Long Tang, Ling Li, Zheng Wu, Gui-Qiong Xu, Qin Zhou, Jing Huang, Rui Guo, Yuan Zhang, Xu Liu, Guan-Qun Zhou, Wen-Fei Li, Cheng Xu, Li Lin, Yu-Pei Chen, Fo-Ping Chen, Xiao-Yu Liang, Si-Yuan Chen, Shu-Qi Li, Chun-Yan Cui, Ji-Bin Li, Jian Ren, Ming-Yuan Chen, Li-Zhi Liu, Ying Sun, Jun Ma
The AJCC/UICC TNM classification describes anatomic extent of tumor progression and guides treatment decisions. Our comprehensive analysis of 8,834 newly diagnosed patients with non-metastatic Epstein-Barr virus related nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) from six Chinese centers indicates certain limitations in the current staging system. The 8th edition of the AJCC/UICC TNM classification inadequately differentiates patient outcomes, particularly between T2 and T3 categories and within the N classification. We propose reclassifying cases of T3 NPC with early skull-base invasion as T2, and elevating N1-N2 cases with grade 3 image-identified extranodal extension (ENE) to N3...
March 11, 2024: Cancer Cell