IASLC Staging Articles
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Thymic Epithelial Tumor Staging Project: Unresolved Issues to be Addressed for the Next Ninth Edition of the TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors
Thymic epithelial tumors are presently staged using a consistent TNM classification developed by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and approved by the Union for International Cancer Control and the American Joint Committee on Cancer. The stage classification is incorporated in the eight edition of the TNM classification of thoracic malignancies. The IASLC Staging and Prognostic Factors Committee (SPFC)—Thymic Domain (TD) is in charge for the next (ninth) edition expected in 2024.The IASLC Mesothelioma Staging Project: Improving Staging of a Rare Disease Through International Participation
For nearly 40 years, there was no generally accepted staging system for malignant pleural mesothelioma. In 1994, members of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group, in collaboration with the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, proposed a TNM staging system based on analyses of outcomes in retrospective surgical series and small clinical trials. Subsequently accepted by the American Joint Commission on Cancer and the Union for International Cancer Control for the sixth editions of their staging manuals, this system has since been the international staging standard.The IASLC Lung Cancer Staging Project: Proposals for the Inclusion of Broncho-Pulmonary Carcinoid Tumors in the Forthcoming (Seventh) Edition of the TNM Classification for Lung Cancer
In the 2003 Supplement for tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) Staging classification it states that TNM staging “applies to all types of carcinoma including small cell carcinoma; however, it does not apply to carcinoids.” Despite this caveat, most publications on typical and atypical carcinoids use the TNM staging system for nonsmall cell carcinoma and are able to demonstrate prognostic significance for the different stages. For this reason, as the next TNM Staging proposal is being considered, we sought to investigate the carcinoid cases submitted to the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) database, as well as the National Cancer Institute Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER).
