Radiography Chest Chest radiography is not sufficient for staging of NSCLC. Variant 2: Noninvasive initial clinical staging of small-cell lung carcinoma. SCLC is an aggressive form of primary pulmonary neuroendocrine tumor with short doubling time and tendency toward early metastasis [50]. The eighth edition of the TNM staging criteria of the American Joint Committee on Cancer applies to patients with SCLC. The TNM staging criteria is recommended to be used in conjunction with the modified Veterans Administration Lung Study Group (VALSG) classification system distinguishing limited stage (LS) from extensive stage (ES) SCLC because of the ongoing use of the VALSG 2-stage classification system in general clinical practice and clinical trials [51-53]. The 5-year overall survival for LS-SCLC is 20% to 25%, while 5-year survival for ES-SCLC approaches zero [51]. The eighth edition of the TNM criteria of the American Joint Committee on Cancer was developed under the auspices of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and informed by database analysis of nearly 95,000 patients primarily from Europe and Asia [4]. Clinical noninvasive staging by radiologic imaging is the first step in determining the appropriate management for patients with SCLC. Noninvasive Clinical Staging of Primary Lung Cancer N Descriptor In the eighth edition, the N stage is based on location of metastatic nodes. Increasing number of involved nodal stations negatively affects prognosis [5]. A lymph node size threshold of >10 mm in axial short axis diameter is considered abnormal. The prevalence of metastatic lung cancer in thoracic lymph nodes is 30% for nodes that are 10 to 15 mm in short axis diameter and 67% for nodes >15 mm [7]. Nx indicates that lymph nodes cannot be assessed [5]. N0 is consistent with lack of regional node involvement [5]. N1 includes ipsilateral peribronchial, hilar, or intrapulmonary lymph node(s) [5].
Noninvasive Clinical Staging of Primary Lung Cancer PCAs. Radiography Chest Chest radiography is not sufficient for staging of NSCLC. Variant 2: Noninvasive initial clinical staging of small-cell lung carcinoma. SCLC is an aggressive form of primary pulmonary neuroendocrine tumor with short doubling time and tendency toward early metastasis [50]. The eighth edition of the TNM staging criteria of the American Joint Committee on Cancer applies to patients with SCLC. The TNM staging criteria is recommended to be used in conjunction with the modified Veterans Administration Lung Study Group (VALSG) classification system distinguishing limited stage (LS) from extensive stage (ES) SCLC because of the ongoing use of the VALSG 2-stage classification system in general clinical practice and clinical trials [51-53]. The 5-year overall survival for LS-SCLC is 20% to 25%, while 5-year survival for ES-SCLC approaches zero [51]. The eighth edition of the TNM criteria of the American Joint Committee on Cancer was developed under the auspices of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and informed by database analysis of nearly 95,000 patients primarily from Europe and Asia [4]. Clinical noninvasive staging by radiologic imaging is the first step in determining the appropriate management for patients with SCLC. Noninvasive Clinical Staging of Primary Lung Cancer N Descriptor In the eighth edition, the N stage is based on location of metastatic nodes. Increasing number of involved nodal stations negatively affects prognosis [5]. A lymph node size threshold of >10 mm in axial short axis diameter is considered abnormal. The prevalence of metastatic lung cancer in thoracic lymph nodes is 30% for nodes that are 10 to 15 mm in short axis diameter and 67% for nodes >15 mm [7]. Nx indicates that lymph nodes cannot be assessed [5]. N0 is consistent with lack of regional node involvement [5]. N1 includes ipsilateral peribronchial, hilar, or intrapulmonary lymph node(s) [5].