Cancer Facts and Figures – Cancer Statistics 2010

The TNM system is used to describe the lung cancer staging system.  It is a classification system developed by the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) and the Union Contre le Cancer (UICC).  According to this, T stands for Tumor size, N for node involvement and M for metastasis status:-

1. The tumor size is classified into TX, T0, Tis, T1, T2, T3, T4. TX being for the least infected and T4 for the most.
2. Regional lymph nodes are divided into NX, N0, N1, N2, N3. NX again being the weakest form of the disease and N3, the strongest.
3. Metastasis can be divided into MX, M0 and M1 with similar levels of intensity as the above two.

The lung cancer staging system can be defined by combining the stages that the above 3 points are at. It can accordingly be divided into:

a)      Stage Ia – T1, N0, M0

b)      Stage Ib – T2, N0, M0

c)      Stage IIa – N1, M0

d)     Stage IIb – T2, N1, M0 or T3, N0, M0

e)      Stage IIIa – T1-2, N2, M0 or T3, N1-2, M0

f)       Stage IIIb – T(any), N3, M0 or T4, N(any), M0

Stage IV – T(any), N(any), M1

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