Evaluation and Staging of Oral Cancer

Abstract

Although the American Joint Committee on Cancer developed its first cancer-specific staging system in 1959, the TNM classification, as it has become known, has undergone many revisions mainly due to the advancements in both diagnosis and management of cancer, Although the basic purpose of the cancer staging system has remained fundamentally unchanged, the ease with which the cancer can be staged has evolved with newer methods. This article reviews cancer evaluation for staging, as well as the introduction of a new staging method effective as of 2018.

Keywords: CT scan; Lymph node metastases; MRI; Oral cancer; PET scan; Squamous cell carcinoma; TNM classification; Tumor size.