Lung cancer staging update: the revised TNM classification

Staging systems aim to describe malignant tumours in a standardized fashion to assist in therapy planning and estimation of prognosis, allow comparison of different therapeutic strategies, facilitate communication between individuals and institutions, improve our knowledge of malignant disease and ultimately improve the outcome for patients. With the continuous increase in data and, ideally, our understanding of a disease and its potential therapy, every staging system requires continuous adjustment. The TNM staging system by the International Union against Cancer (UICC) is applied worldwide and revised regularly, with intervals aiming at a compromise between up-to-date information on the one hand and providing continuity by avoiding too short-lived revisions on the other hand. The 6th edition was published in 2002 and the 7th edition was published in 2009. The 7th edition became current from January 2010 on.