Current Concepts in the Diagnosis and Staging of Lung Cancer

Abstract

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and accounts for more deaths than colorectal, breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers combined. The eighth edition of the tumor-node-metastasis staging system (TNM-8), which has been accepted by the Union for International Cancer Control and the American Joint Committee on Cancer based on proposals from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, includes key changes to T and M descriptors and overall stage groups and introduces new recommendations for classifying patterns of disease with multiple sites of pulmonary involvement. As accurate staging is necessary for the formulation of appropriate treatment strategies, radiologists must be able to identify these features on imaging studies.