{"entity":{"id":"tnm-staging","kind":"term","name":"TNM staging","aka":["TNM","T stage","N stage","T1a","T1b","T1c","pT2","T1-2","T3-4","N2-3","M0 disease","clinical stage"],"tldr":"TNM staging is the universal system describing tumour size (T), lymph node spread (N), and distant metastasis (M).","summary":"TNM staging is the universal system for describing a cancer by tumour size and extent (T), lymph node spread (N) and distant metastasis (M), with aliases such as T stage, N stage, pT2 and clinical stage. The current scheme is the AJCC/UICC 8th edition, and it increasingly incorporates biomarkers, so that breast prognostic stage includes grade, ER, PR and HER2 status. The resulting stage I to IV groups drive treatment intent. The term connects to the related terms Stage, Primary tumour, Lymph node, Lymph node status, Carcinoma in situ (CIS), Breslow thickness and Disease-specific staging and risk systems, and it is referenced by the Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma entry, the Union for International Cancer Control and an idea for a live national dashboard of stage at diagnosis.","asOf":"2026-09-04","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNM_staging_system","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNM_staging_system"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Clinical"},"route":"/terms/tnm-staging/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"colorectal-adenoma-like-adenocarcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Adenoma-like adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum","route":"/cancers/colorectal-adenoma-like-adenocarcinoma/"},{"id":"breast-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Breast cancer (all types)","route":"/cancers/breast-cancer/"},{"id":"colorectal","kind":"cancer","name":"Colorectal cancer","route":"/cancers/colorectal/"},{"id":"gallbladder","kind":"cancer","name":"Gallbladder cancer","route":"/cancers/gallbladder/"},{"id":"head-and-neck","kind":"cancer","name":"Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/head-and-neck/"},{"id":"lung-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Lung cancer (all types)","route":"/cancers/lung-cancer/"},{"id":"colorectal-micropapillary-carcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Micropapillary adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum","route":"/cancers/colorectal-micropapillary-carcinoma/"},{"id":"nsclc","kind":"cancer","name":"Non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/cancers/nsclc/"},{"id":"pancreatic","kind":"cancer","name":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma","route":"/cancers/pancreatic/"},{"id":"prostate","kind":"cancer","name":"Prostate cancer","route":"/cancers/prostate/"},{"id":"resectable-nsclc","kind":"cancer","name":"Resectable stage I to III non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/cancers/resectable-nsclc/"},{"id":"tnbc","kind":"cancer","name":"Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)","route":"/cancers/tnbc/"},{"id":"stage-iii-unresectable-nsclc","kind":"cancer","name":"Unresectable stage III non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/cancers/stage-iii-unresectable-nsclc/"}],"term":[{"id":"ajcc-prognostic-stage-breast","kind":"term","name":"AJCC 8th edition prognostic stage for breast cancer","route":"/terms/ajcc-prognostic-stage-breast/"},{"id":"ajcc-stage","kind":"term","name":"AJCC stage (TNM staging manual)","route":"/terms/ajcc-stage/"},{"id":"breslow-thickness","kind":"term","name":"Breslow thickness","route":"/terms/breslow-thickness/"},{"id":"cambridge-prognostic-group","kind":"term","name":"Cambridge Prognostic Group (CPG 1 to 5)","route":"/terms/cambridge-prognostic-group/"},{"id":"carcinoma-in-situ","kind":"term","name":"Carcinoma in situ (CIS)","route":"/terms/carcinoma-in-situ/"},{"id":"circumferential-resection-margin","kind":"term","name":"Circumferential resection margin (rectal cancer)","route":"/terms/circumferential-resection-margin/"},{"id":"staging-systems","kind":"term","name":"Disease-specific staging and risk systems (FIGO, Ann Arbor, IPI, R-ISS, ELN, IMDC)","route":"/terms/staging-systems/"},{"id":"extraprostatic-extension","kind":"term","name":"Extraprostatic extension and seminal vesicle invasion","route":"/terms/extraprostatic-extension/"},{"id":"grade-vs-stage","kind":"term","name":"Grade versus stage","route":"/terms/grade-vs-stage/"},{"id":"tnm-skin-carcinoma","kind":"term","name":"How skin carcinoma is staged in Britain: UICC TNM, and why it is not the American system","route":"/terms/tnm-skin-carcinoma/"},{"id":"icd-o-3","kind":"term","name":"ICD-O-3 (International Classification of Diseases for Oncology)","route":"/terms/icd-o-3/"},{"id":"immunoscore","kind":"term","name":"Immunoscore","route":"/terms/immunoscore/"},{"id":"locally-advanced","kind":"term","name":"Locally advanced and locoregional disease","route":"/terms/locally-advanced/"},{"id":"lymph-node","kind":"term","name":"Lymph node","route":"/terms/lymph-node/"},{"id":"lymph-node-status","kind":"term","name":"Lymph node status (node-positive / node-negative)","route":"/terms/lymph-node-status/"},{"id":"mediastinal-lymph-node-stations","kind":"term","name":"Mediastinal lymph node stations","route":"/terms/mediastinal-lymph-node-stations/"},{"id":"obstructing-colorectal-cancer","kind":"term","name":"Obstruction and T4 disease in bowel cancer","route":"/terms/obstructing-colorectal-cancer/"},{"id":"pancreas-protocol-ct","kind":"term","name":"Pancreas protocol CT (pancreatic protocol CT, dual-phase thin-slice CT with structured reporting)","route":"/terms/pancreas-protocol-ct/"},{"id":"peritoneal-carcinomatosis-index","kind":"term","name":"Peritoneal cancer index","route":"/terms/peritoneal-carcinomatosis-index/"},{"id":"primary-tumour","kind":"term","name":"Primary tumour","route":"/terms/primary-tumour/"},{"id":"r0-r1-margin-pancreatic","kind":"term","name":"R0 and R1 margins in pancreatic cancer: the 1 mm rule and standardised specimen reporting","route":"/terms/r0-r1-margin-pancreatic/"},{"id":"cancer-stage","kind":"term","name":"Stage","route":"/terms/cancer-stage/"},{"id":"t2a-versus-t2b","kind":"term","name":"T2a versus T2b gallbladder cancer (peritoneal side versus hepatic side)","route":"/terms/t2a-versus-t2b/"},{"id":"bwh-staging-cscc","kind":"term","name":"The Brigham and Women's Hospital staging system, and why squamous cell carcinoma has two","route":"/terms/bwh-staging-cscc/"},{"id":"tnm-9-lung-cancer","kind":"term","name":"TNM 9: what changed in lung cancer staging","route":"/terms/tnm-9-lung-cancer/"},{"id":"tnm-prostate-cancer","kind":"term","name":"TNM staging for prostate cancer, and what changed in the 9th edition","route":"/terms/tnm-prostate-cancer/"},{"id":"tumour-board","kind":"term","name":"Tumour board (multidisciplinary team meeting)","route":"/terms/tumour-board/"},{"id":"tnm-breast-cancer-editions","kind":"term","name":"Which staging edition a breast report uses: UICC TNM 8, TNM 9 and the AJCC prognostic stage","route":"/terms/tnm-breast-cancer-editions/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-chun-ajcc-8th-edition-hepatobiliary-aso-2018","kind":"paper","name":"8th Edition of the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual: Pancreas and Hepatobiliary Cancers","route":"/key-papers/paper-chun-ajcc-8th-edition-hepatobiliary-aso-2018/"},{"id":"paper-nevin-gallbladder-carcinoma-staging-cancer-1976","kind":"paper","name":"Carcinoma of the gallbladder: staging, treatment, and prognosis","route":"/key-papers/paper-nevin-gallbladder-carcinoma-staging-cancer-1976/"},{"id":"paper-kim-t1b-gallbladder-cancer-international-jhbps-2018","kind":"paper","name":"Optimal surgical treatment in patients with T1b gallbladder cancer: An international multicenter study","route":"/key-papers/paper-kim-t1b-gallbladder-cancer-international-jhbps-2018/"},{"id":"paper-shindoh-t2-gallbladder-cancer-tumour-location-ann-surg-2015","kind":"paper","name":"Tumor location is a strong predictor of tumor progression and survival in T2 gallbladder cancer: an international multicenter study","route":"/key-papers/paper-shindoh-t2-gallbladder-cancer-tumour-location-ann-surg-2015/"},{"id":"paper-giannis-ajcc8-gallbladder-staging-validation-cancers-2021","kind":"paper","name":"Validation of the 8th Edition American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) Gallbladder Cancer Staging System: Prognostic Discrimination and Identification of Key Predictive Factors","route":"/key-papers/paper-giannis-ajcc8-gallbladder-staging-validation-cancers-2021/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"gallbladder-cancer-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Gallbladder cancer roadmap: from a chance finding at gallstone surgery to a disease with its own trials","route":"/roadmaps/gallbladder-cancer-roadmap/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-prev-live-stage-dashboard","kind":"idea","name":"A live national dashboard of stage at diagnosis as the scorecard for early detection","route":"/ideas/idea-prev-live-stage-dashboard/"},{"id":"idea-gbc-t1b-simple-cholecystectomy-prospective-study","kind":"idea","name":"Test whether T1b gallbladder cancer needs the second operation at all","route":"/ideas/idea-gbc-t1b-simple-cholecystectomy-prospective-study/"}],"institution":[{"id":"iaslc","kind":"institution","name":"International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer","route":"/institutions/iaslc/"},{"id":"uicc","kind":"institution","name":"Union for International Cancer Control","route":"/institutions/uicc/"}],"pathway":[{"id":"basement-membrane-tissue-barriers","kind":"pathway","name":"Basement membrane & tissue barriers","route":"/pathways/basement-membrane-tissue-barriers/"},{"id":"invasion-ecm-degradation","kind":"pathway","name":"Invasion: proteases, adhesion & the invasive front","route":"/pathways/invasion-ecm-degradation/"}]}}